The Truth Complex
by celticvampriss
Summary: The Doctor, Amy, and Rory are trapped, what else is new? There's a chemical in the air forcing them to tell the truth and act on their inner fantasies and urges. What could go wrong? Amyx11 Based on series 5 events. Sequel now up- The Time Alteration
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I had a funny idea, meant to be a one shot, turned into this. I'm not sure about any of it, Doctor Who is so hard because the writing is so good and keeping the Doctor in character is beyond difficult. That being said, I feel like I did a fairly decent job if not moderately captured the Doctor in this. Any helpful tips or feedback would be appreciated. Please no flames. Oh, and I know Rory is a big pansy push over, but I couldn't help it, I'm not a huge fan of his so if you are...might not want to continue. This is sort of alternate universe, but it is really just a different take on Amy's feelings for Rory, if they were shifted more towards the Doctor. *cough* like they should be *cough* All based on season five stuff, and set shortly after _Vampires of Venice_. Sorry, hope you enjoy it as it is meant to be funny and full of Doctor Who awesomeness.**

**I do not own Doctor Who...**

**ONE**

Red or blue? The choice loomed before him, but he couldn't decide. The Doctor was frozen in a moment of indecision. It was an impossible task and he couldn't see making another move without deciding. The red one looked promising, but so did the blue. Blue was pretty, but red could be beautiful, but wait, so could blue. Red hair. The TARDIS was blue. But red was—

"Oh, for the love of, just pick the red one already." Amy exclaimed, ignoring his pout. "Either way, you'll look like a goof."

He frowned. "I think not." He held up the red bow tie again. "You've no sense of style." Looking at himself in the monitor he winked. Oh yeah, he was so cool.

"Yes, because bow ties are _so_ in." She huffed, rolling her eyes. His indecisiveness was getting annoying. She checked her wrist to see how long she had been standing there and for a moment, she thought that he was worse than a girl. Feminine pride kept her from voicing the accusation. Besides, he wouldn't get it anyway.

The Doctor began to tie the red one under his collar. "Sounding a bit jealous, Pond?"

She scoffed, "Oh, don't you worry about that."

He eyed her moodily, "Rory!" He called over his shoulder, his eyes remaining on Amy and her smile. It looked mocking to him, but he couldn't tell if she was making fun of him or if she was being devious. Probably both.

Rory slumped down the stairs, looking sour. His head always fell to the side lately, and the Doctor got the feeling that his attempts to bring the two closer together was doing the opposite. Guilt had caused him to invite him along, and though he liked Rory enough, there were certain things about the young nurse that bothered him. Though, he couldn't always put his finger on it. Rory ignored him and gazed wistfully at Amy, smiling bravely when she turned toward him.

That. The Doctor decided suddenly, that was one of the things he hated. That puppy dog look that made Amy gush all over him affectionately. It was bad form and obviously cheating. Exactly what the game was he did a good job of convincing himself that he didn't know.

"So, where are we this time?" Amy ran a hand along the console as she stalked the Doctor, her eyes low and playful. "Some place amazing?"

Her enthusiasm was the perfect distraction from whatever he had been mad about. Flipping a few levers just for the heck of it, and so he could see what happened, he acted nonchalant. "Tra'elect Prime. It's a one of the three habitable moons surrounding Galadros."

"Oo, sounds exotic." She wiggled her shoulders, leaning forward.

"Very." He met her gaze, smiling crookedly. Not at all aware how hard they were flirting.

"Oh, okay, so we'll just pretend I'm not here again?" Rory grumbled, his hands in the air. He looked rather nauseated, but his glare was directed at the Doctor, who simply backtracked slowly, trying to remove himself from the situation.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic." Amy ruffled his hair affectionately. "Really, you're making a big deal out of nothing."

"Am I?" He fumed, but Amy's hand intertwined with his and his smile returned. The Doctor glanced at their hands, his eyes averting quickly. Licking his lips, he regained his wide-eyed smile.

"So. We all ready then? All, sorted? Everyone happy?" He gave them a thumbs up.

"'Course." Amy chirped. Rory didn't get a say.

"Great." He spun on his heel and strode toward the doors, throwing them open grandly. It was a very dramatic entrance for nothing. He frowned as Amy and Rory hovered near him, looking equally confused.

"It's a wall." Amy observed.

His head swiveled for a second, "Seems that way, yes." Then he reached just outside the TARDIS, his body pushed against the wall. "But, I do believe this is actually…" He grunted as he strained to reach for something they couldn't see, finally falling backward with a smile. "A door." The wall swung forward on hinges that had been hidden by the TARDIS. "Voilá."

Outside the door was a large expanse of dense jungle, complete with vines, trees as big around as dumpsters, and a menagerie of foreign plants. Even the ground just by their feet seemed untouched by man as weeds grew tall and unhindered. A bug the size of a small mouse flew past, making Amy wince. Why couldn't they ever land somewhere glamorous?

"Hm. Strange place for a door." The Doctor mused, stepping out and shielding his eyes from the green filtered sunlight. The muggy heat was already seeping into the TARDIS, making Amy and Rory wipe at their foreheads.

"Doctor?" Amy followed him outside, looking up and around. He was already walking off, not bothering to tell them what he was doing. Just expecting them to follow. She growled. "Doctor, shouldn't we see what's on the inside of the door? You know, like not wander off into the space forest with space predators…huge…bugs." She shrugged a large flying creature off her shoulder, shuddering. Gross. Gross. Gross. "Doctor?" She didn't like that he wasn't answering her, but she was mainly looking at the ground, trying not to step on anything alive.

The Doctor finally spun around and walked back to Amy, Rory helping her keep her balance when she tripped on an extended root. She braced her hand on the structure they had landed in, a solid grey wall extending outward too far for them to see.

"Okay, so, I don't think going inside would be such a good idea, at this current point in time." He rubbed his hands together, scrutinizing the wall like there was something wrong with it.

"And why not?" She questioned. She was always questioning, he noticed. She was brilliant that way, the Doctor noted with a smirk.

"Well, because this building is uninhabited, and it would seem that was not by choice and I would like to know why." His eyes shifted back and forth, he put his hand on the wall and then ran a finger down it, bending at the knees before standing up abruptly. He stuck his finger in his mouth, making a face. "New paint." He tried to clean his tongue on his teeth.

"What?" Amy asked, trying not to laugh.

"Paint's new. Well, recent…ish."

She ignored his childish theatrics. "Okay…so why'd they paint if they were leaving?" It was like watching a seven year old eat their vegetables.

"Precisely."

They exchanged their glances, unspoken words Rory would never understand. That need to plunge into the terrifying unknown. What was wrong with the peace and quiet? Rory kicked at something with his foot while they talked. Ignored, again, he thought glumly. He bent down to pick up the object. When he realized what it was he dropped it again. "Doctor."

The Doctor spun on the spot and headed in Rory's direction, intrigued by the tone of his voice. He had sounded frightened, but that wasn't altogether abnormal. Actually, he had just realized that Rory was in fact, still with them and felt the need to include him. "What's up?"

Rory pointed to his shoes.

"Your shoes?"

He shook his head. "No, you idiot, that."

The Doctor looked down. "You mean the rock?"

Sighing heavily, Rory bent down and picked up the object. "This."

"Oh. Yes. That." The Doctor pinched the knife between two fingers, grimacing at the sight of coagulated blood on the blade. He sniffed it and reeled back in disgust.

"What do you suppose it means?" Rory asked, because he was curious. Not that curious. Not Amy curious. She was too curious. Just like him. They were always too curious for their own good. The pair of them. It didn't make him feel any better.

"I suppose it means someone was stabbed." The Doctor lifted his eyes and smiled. "Just a guess."

"Yes, but why? And why's there no other evidence of anything happening? And why are you walking away from me when I'm…" Rory ran a hand through his hair, "…I'm talking. Oh, never mind."

"If I were to make another guess, the stabbing didn't happen here." The Doctor continued, looking at the ground for any sort of clue.

"Why's that?" Amy's nose was wrinkled in disgust as he held the knife in front of him like it carried the plague. When he swung around, it came within inches of her face and she held up a protective hand. "Oh, just drop the damn thing."

The Doctor let the knife drop. Then his eyes fluttered briefly and he took a deep breath. "Ow." He shifted his foot and the knife was once again lost to the forest floor. The pain subsiding, he began to explain what he had gathered so far. "So, here's what I can gather so far. Something happened here. Something not quite right."

"Oh that's very helpful." Rory scoffed.

"But it is." The Doctor finished. "Very helpful because it means that this is going to be interesting." He lifted his eyebrows, bouncing on the heels of his feet. "Want to know what happened here? Cause I sure do."

"Where do we start?" Amy's voice was just as eager and she shared a quick conspiratorial glance with the Doctor before turning to include Rory. "I mean, since you said we shouldn't go in the building."

The Doctor looked at the wall and then at the only door he could see. "Well, shouldn't and can't."

"Why's that?"

"Cause the door's shut and I don't have a key." Amy and Rory turned quickly to see that the door they had entered was now closed. Amy ran to it, turning the handle in vain. It wouldn't budge.

"Who shut it? There's no one here." She pounded a palm on the door for good measure before resting her hands on her hips.

"Dunno. Could've been the wind. Passing jungle…cat." The Doctor turned around.

"Wait. Wait." Rory put his hands up. "You have that screwdriver, yeah? Just…you know, sonic it."

"Dead bolt. Had to unlock it when I was trying to get the door open. Probably should have done something about that…" He shrugged. "Spilled milk."

"So what now?" Amy droned, already too hot for comfort.

"Now we walk. See if we can't find another entrance. Maybe a window. A vent." He smiled and his fingers danced in the air as he talked, like a nervous tick or like he didn't know what else to do with them. "Maybe we'll find another clue. Like a mystery." He raised his eyebrows. "Love a good mystery, me."

"Yeah, or we'll just find the body that goes with the knife." Rory offered realistically, breaking the Doctor's giddy anticipation.

"No reason to be a downer, Rory." He mumbled before leading the way.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter two. I hope this is interesting, and I know they are starting to act a tad out of character, but that is the point. Reviews are always appreciated, especially as a motivater *wink* Enjoy. ^_^**

**TWO**

Over twenty minutes and they hadn't found anything of interest. Just wall and another dead bolted door. It was hot. It was muggy. And even the Doctor was beginning to get a tad uncomfortable facing the elements. He promised that if they didn't find something soon, they'd go back and try the other way. The Doctor was starting to wonder whether wall or fortress was the more apt description, and then Rory called for a halt.

"Sorry. Got to go." He walked through the trees out of sight, leaving Amy to wait with the Doctor. They said nothing, the space between them tangible. They were so comfortable with each other, when they were trying not to die. The simple act of waiting was proving too mundane and unexciting for the pair and they began to fidget.

"So. Hot, eh?" His fingers danced nervously, and he grinned.

Amy eyed him, "Are you asking me about the weather?"

"Suppose…" He teetered on his feet.

She put out a hand to stop him from saying anything else, "It's alright. No small talk necessary."

"Right." He shifted again. More silence. He looked at his watch. "I'm glad we brought him."

"Yeah, me too." Amy looked at him suspiciously.

"Things seem to be going well." He smiled. "You know, with you. And Rory. You and Rory."

"Yep."

"He seems happy." His hands moved to his pockets.

"No he doesn't."

"Yeah, no he doesn't."

"Doctor, why're you asking about this?"

"Asking? I dunno. Curious. You know me…curious…" He kicked at the ground and bit his cheek.

A sudden scream made them both look into the trees.

"Rory?" Amy was running, calling his name a second time before she was even out of sight.

The Doctor sighed in relief and followed her. "Amy, don't wander off..." He yelled in vain, knowing that she wouldn't be thinking about the consequences if she were to get lost too.

When they didn't see him right away, they kept walking moving, hoping that he hadn't been attacked by an animal or something worse. Then it was too late. The ground disappeared below them and the next thing Amy or the Doctor knew they were on their backs staring up at a small square of sunlight.

Rory's face obscured the square as he leaned over them. "Some kind of tunnel system." He said, helping Amy to her feet.

They brushed off the dust and dirt and looked around. It wasn't a natural formation, the metal walls and faint glow of light was evidence of that. The Doctor used the sonic to gather information and then pocketed it. The tunnel seemed safe, though there were traces of something in the air that he did not like. Some unknown chemical was mixing with the normal composition of the atmosphere. Still, he didn't bother to mention that. Best to wait until he had definite answers, then the sonic would have a reading for him on the unknown elements.

"Down the eerie tunnel it is." He said brightly. Vines had grown into the structure and crept their way up the sides of the walls, orange flowers blooming amongst the emerald leaves.

"What a pretty flower." Amy noted, leaning toward it before she was stopped by the Doctor's hand on her shoulder. "What? It's just a flower."

He studied the vines. "I don't trust pretty things." He murmured.

Amy stood up and eyed him playfully, "Do you trust me?"

He looked into her eyes, even in the dim lighting they were brilliantly green. "No."

She opened her mouth but he was walking away, and she closed it again. That might have been a compliment, she wasn't entirely sure. She was curious to find out, but she knew he'd avoid the subject. It was best to just forget about it.

"So, was that you saying I was pretty?" Amy's mouth hung open. She hadn't meant to say that, not out loud.

The Doctor didn't turn around. "Not sure what these plants are, but I really don't like them. You know, flowers are always doing bad things. They trick you with their…frilly petals…" He continued to evade the topic, as Amy knew he would.

"Doctor, do you find me pretty?" She had walked up to him and pulled on the edge of his sleeve to get him to face her. Why on earth she had done it, she had no clue. Her cheeks were bright red and she bit her lip. "I mean, never mind. Dunno why I asked that."

The Doctor watched her curiously, looking at Rory who shrugged before he continued walking.

Amy sighed, unsure what had just come over her. Her shoulder brushed against the Doctor's coat and she grabbed his hand. Not a strange thing, they always held hands. Then she started to rub his hand with her thumb, not even aware that she was doing it. He looked at their hands then tried to let go, but she made it difficult. He had to pull her arm to get her to release him.

"Why's that keep happening?" She asked quietly, staring at her hand as if it had betrayed her.

Now the Doctor stopped. "What's happening? Amy, tell me. What's wrong?" He took her face in his hands and lifted her head so he could look into her eyes. Her pupils appeared normal, her eyes as alert and intense as ever. And her…

Amy's hands had grabbed the front of his shirt and she was now pulling him toward her. The gap between them closed abruptly as he smacked against her roughly. He saw her face leaning toward him and panic flooded his nerves.

Breaking her hold on his shirt the Doctor took a few steps back, Amy watched him like a predator stalking something tasty to eat. Her eyes exact and completely focused on him. "Amy? Talk to me. Tell me what's going on." He reasoned; hands outstretched to keep her from lunging.

"I don't really feel like talking, Doctor." Her shoulders moved suggestively. "Feel like there's something better we could be doing, something infinitely more fun." She raised her eyebrows suggestively, and the Doctor lowered his hand a fraction.

"Like what?" He inquired innocently. Rory's voice reminded him that this was not the time or the place for playful banter, as much as he enjoyed their back-and-forth.

"What's she doing?" Rory asked, fearful and apprehensive. She seemed like Amy, but he could tell something was off. "Why's she talking like that? It's like she doesn't even realize I'm standing right here."

"I don't know." The Doctor hissed. Why did people always expect him to know everything? He needed time to figure things out. He wasn't an encyclopedia. He wasn't a machine. This was just as confusing to him.

Amy shook her head. "Sorry. Sorry…I don't know what's gotten into me." She cleared her throat.

"How do you feel?" The Doctor pressed, growing worried.

"I feel great. Wonderful, actually." She held a hand to her head. Then she chuckled lightly. "I dunno, I feel really good and happy."

"Then what were you doing? What made you grab him like that?" Rory tried to spin it so that it sounded different than what he had seen. Admitting the truth was too difficult. "Why'd you attack him?" He knew that he meant why did you try and kiss him, but attack sounded better.

"Attack?" Amy snorted, her eyes never leaving the Doctor. "I wasn't attacking anyone."

"Then what were you doing?" Rory accused. He wasn't at all comfortable with the look in her eyes. He knew that look, knew what it meant when her eyes were low and her voice purred like that, but none of it was directed at him.

"I was taking." Amy growled.

"Taking what?" The Doctor looked confused for a second, his eyes moving between her and Rory. His mind was racing to try and figure out what had possessed her, because he knew Amy and this wasn't her. He was sure. 90% sure. 67%. Okay, it was a strong hunch that something was making Amy act strangely. That much was plain. Sort of.

"You." She purred and closed the distance slowly. Her hips swaying. Her crimson hair falling in front of her eyes. She grabbed the Doctor's collar before he could move, not that he had many options in the small tunnel and he had been too hypnotized to react anyway. Her lips hovered over his face.

"Amy…" He had no idea what she was thinking, but that look she was giving him filled him with apprehension, and maybe a little anticipation.

Rory pulled her away, looking angry. He guided her gently, but his eyes remained locked on the Doctor. Why was he getting all the attention today? He wondered as he waited for Rory to speak.

"Stop making her love you." Rory seethed.

"What?" The Doctor tried to follow, but Rory's statement seemed completely out of the blue. It had not been what he was expecting him to say. Maybe something gallant or possibly a question as to why Amy had just tried to assault him. Those things would have made sense. Something feeble, maybe, that would have been more Rory.

"I said, stop making her fall in love with you." He turned back to Amy, who was shifting uncomfortably behind them.

The Doctor took a step back. He was saved from further comment when Amy turned Rory's attention back on her. Well, bullet dodged. He then used the moment of awkward silence to use the sonic on the flowers. "I knew that would come back to haunt me. Never trust flowers." He put the screwdriver back in his pocket. The screwdriver had managed to identify what it hadn't been able to earlier, and though it wasn't good it was something. Needless to say, it answered a few of his questions.

On the other side of the small tunnel, completely ignoring the Doctor's antics, Rory confronted his fiancé. "You want to break up with me." Rory said sadly, his eyes pleading with Amy to say no. It was horribly pathetic, but he didn't care. Amy was worth the humiliation.

Amy shook her head. "Yes." Her lips formed the word before she could do anything to stop herself. What the hell was happening? She sucked in a breath. No. She had said no. She had thought yes. She meant yes.

"Because of him?"

"Yeah." Her eyes were wide, something was speaking for her. Surely this was not her own voice telling him these things. Thankfully, the Doctor put his hands up and stopped them from doing any more damage. But it was probably too late.

"Does anyone remember me saying not to touch the flowers?" He tried to sound cheerful, like they hadn't just broken up because of him. His smile diminished slightly when two sets of eyes turned to glare at him. "Ah, okay, so I'll take that as a no."

"What's wrong with her Doctor? Tell me what happened." Rory snapped. His voice was sharp and cold.

"It's both of you, actually."

"No, she's the one who's acting weird. I'm just pining after a girl who stopped loving me years ago. Too scared to admit it or that she's too beautiful and popular to be with me. That I'm not good enough." Rory closed his eyes. He hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Yes, well, that's what I'm trying to tell you…it's the flowers. They're everywhere, growing much more than any flower ought to, especially in such awful colors. Orange, really?" He took a breath, noting that neither found him amusing just then. "I noticed earlier that there's something strange in the air, sonic's finally got it all sorted." He clapped his hands. "Small traces of strongly concentrated amobarbital, scopolamine, and ethanol."

Their raised eyebrows confirmed that they didn't know what that was supposed to mean. He took a steady breath.

"It's basically…a truth serum of sorts. Limits inhibitions, forces you to tell the truth, and pretty much makes you do whatever you say or think." He could see the realization on Rory's face and he avoided his eyes. This was not going to be easy for Rory. It made Amy's words more painful, and there was no justification for them except that they were true. But the Doctor was more concerned with his own light hearted acceptance of the situation. He had no reason to be happy about any of it, but he smiled anyway. He felt light and bounced on his feet.

Winner. He thought smugly.

"What about you? Why aren't you doing anything weird?" Rory again broke his silent thoughts.

"Well, I'm not human. Probably be awhile before it gets into my head. Higher tolerance than you lot." He stretched out his arms, lifting his eyes haughtily. "Time Lord."

"So we'll get to hear everything that you think, yeah? No filter?" Amy was intrigued. Amy Pond was by no means an ignorant and she wanted to know what he was thinking when he flirted or smirked at her, when he told her she was brilliant and kissed her forehead. God and she wanted a fistful of his impossible hair as she kissed him breathless. She couldn't even stop herself as she moved to do just that.

"Possibly. I don't intend to be here that long. Want to avoid that, actually." He wanted to get moving, but the taste was thick in the air, like the plants knew that they were there and were trying to hurry the process. Flowers were devious. He took a step back as Amy took a step forward.

"Oh, but what kinds of things does the Doctor stop himself from doing? I think I really want to see that." Amy teased.

"I don't." Rory droned, his heart sinking. Amy had been telling him the truth. He had to accept that, but he didn't have to do it right away. It hurt more than he liked. And it was hard to feel so empty and vulnerable and have to put on a brave face because _he_ was there.

"Think I'm with Rory on this." The Doctor's eyes were wide as he moved to keep them walking. He needed to get them out of there because it wasn't going to take long for them to completely forget about getting back to the TARDIS. It wouldn't be long before nothing mattered but dark fantasies and petty vengeance. Rory was looking increasingly angry and Amy's eyes were glazing, both focused on him and he rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. No, it wasn't long before they forgot that they needed to get the hell out of there.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Next chapter. Things getting more tense...and such. Really hoping this is sounding like a story, but you know, confidence is hard. Reviews appreciated, and if I am not keeping anyone in character, please let me know. Enjoy. ^_^**

**THREE**

The Doctor was trying to think, hoping that the end of the tunnel was going to be found soon, but then something made him jump. He spun like something had stung him and politely moved his gaze away from Amy's outstretched hand gripping the air just below his waist line where he had just been standing. He cleared his throat and made sure to keep her in front of him. She was losing it faster than Rory and she was the first to show any symptoms. There had to be a reason.

Amy suddenly sat down. Rory went to her, but she simply sat there, looking bored. "Doctor, what's she doing now?" He whined, grating on the Doctor's nerves.

"Looks like she's resting." He replied matter-of-factly, bending to her level. "Come on, we have to keep moving."

Her head rolled to the side so she could face him. "I'm tired." Normally she'd feel like sitting down, but keep pushing on. Always keeping up. Now, she didn't have the ability to stop herself.

"I know. I know Amy, but you have to keep walking." He reached for her hand, but thought better of it.

"I don't wanna." She sighed. "I want to sit." She seemed unaware of what she was doing, and the Doctor was getting worried that she would pose a serious obstacle in the near future. "I don't hate the bow tie." She said finally, a giddy smile on her face.

Her comment distracted him, as he straightened his tie confidently. "Really?" Ha, he knew it.

"It's the geekiest thing I've ever seen." She grinned. "But you pull it off." Her fingers reached out and he pulled his hand away as she touched his collar. "Sexy." She giggled.

He lost his pompous air and managed a weak smile.

"Doctor, she's getting worse. Why's it affecting her more than me? She's all loopy and weird. Like she's high or something." Rory paced, worried that Amy would do something he couldn't stand to witness.

Head falling, the Doctor stood and looked at Rory. "The chemical takes away our ability to restrain ourselves. Makes you take whatever you want, do whatever you're thinking, say things. Amy…" His fingers were pressed together as he tried to explain. "Amy had more to hide than you."

"Yeah, hiding the fact that she's clearly in love with you." Rory snapped.

"I wish you would stop saying that." The Doctor let his eyes fall, feeling guilty.

"Why? It's true." Rory stood in front of the Doctor, his hands shaking.

Noting the change in demeanor, the Doctor decided it was best to see to Amy so they could keep walking. Rory looked seconds away from punching him. He bent over and offered a hand. "Come along, Pond. We're not out of the woods yet."

"I'll keep walking if you agree to hold my hand." Amy licked her lips slowly, her eyes dark and narrowed.

Ignoring Rory's scoff, the Doctor nodded. "Course, as long as you're walking." She stood and intertwined her fingers with his, leaning on his shoulder.

"Don't you want to hold my hand?" She teased then she released his hand abruptly and pulled her shirt over her head, shaking out her hair. "Hot isn't it?" Her chest rose and fell covered by a thin tank top. Both sets of male eyes were fixed on Amy, startled by the sudden action. Her long legs were uncovered except for shorts and her fiery hair hung over her shoulders in waves, something that didn't seem all that provocative until she had made such a show of removing her top layer of clothing. Plus, the tank top showed more skin than was necessary.

Rory began to walk toward her blindly, unaware that he was staring. The humidity made her pale skin glisten invitingly, and he forgot that she had basically told him she didn't love him anymore. That she had chosen another man. That she had chosen _him_. Rory stopped, his gaze turning on the Doctor with cold fury.

The Doctor was having trouble removing his eyes from Amy, in concern of course, so he didn't notice Rory lunging for him.

"You." Rory seethed. He pushed the other man hard, the Doctor's back crashing against the steel wall. "You ruined everything. Why couldn't you just stay away? Why'd you have to come back?" He took a swing, but the Doctor ducked and moved to put what little distance he could between them.

"Now, Rory, think about what you're doing. You're just lashing out because—" The Doctor avoided another attack.

"Stop. Just stop with your stupid…talking. Do you ever shut up? You're always babbling on about nothing, making no sense. News flash, Doctor, you're a know it all and no one cares." Rory shrugged off Amy's attempt to stop him and he ignored her fierce warning to calm down. "She was over you. She was finally moving on, with me, and then you have to show up in your stupid…box and take her away. She was mine first. I knew her first." Rory stalked him, wanting to feel his hands tighten around the Doctor's neck.

"Actually, I met her first. When she was seven. But who's counting?" The Doctor regretted his words as Rory growled.

"You stole her, Doctor and it's not fair." Rory took another swing, but the Doctor's hands were guarding his face.

"I know. It's not fair. I'm horrible. Okay? Rory, you can yell at me all you like, but this isn't going to solve the problem here and now. We need to keep moving. We need to get out of here, you and Amy. Before you do something you'll regret…"

Rory's eyes were blazing, his anger making his fists shake, his voice echoing off the walls. "Regret? Like giving you the thrashing you deserve? I'm well within my rights to punch you and oh…I really _really_ want to."

"Rory!" Amy stepped between them. "Stop taking this out on him. Be mad at me." She looked on the verge of tears, all playful teasing gone. "It's not the Doctor's fault. He didn't force me to go. He offered and I accepted. My choice."

"But why…we were happy…Amy…weren't we?" Then the puppy eyes returned and the Doctor fought a groan of annoyance.

"Yeah…we were, but…" She reached toward him affectionately, truly sorry, truly remorseful, but nothing could change the way she felt and nothing she said would make it better.

"Oh, please." The Doctor scoffed, looking startled. "I mean…we should be trying to get out of here and not fighting each other." His voice rose steadily, growing in volume and fierceness. "This is what I have been trying to tell you all along. But do you ever listen? No. No one listens to the Doctor. Am I talking just for my health? I'm the authority here, I'm the one with experience. The clever one. And I'm the one who'll figure it all out. So you will stop yelling at each other and listen to me." He took a deep breath, then shifted uncomfortably. "And I think it's starting to affect me and that is definitely not good." He was shouting still, and he didn't know why, but he nodded, his face looking pained.

Amy and Rory were silent, their jaws clenched to keep from speaking. The tunnel still extended before them, mocking them. They felt lost, their hopes suddenly draining, but their moods still elevated. If the Doctor was correct in his thinking, they'd either kill each other or die of starvation and they'd be happy about it. He fixed his jacket and ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"We need to keep walking." He said quietly. "Or we're going to die." He sighed. "I didn't mean that. Yes I did. No, I mean we might die. Don't argue. Let's go." He spoke almost too quickly for them to follow and then they were walking. Because what else could they do? Amy fought with her urge to sooth Rory and ravish the Doctor. Rory tried not to take a swing at the back of the Doctor's stupid head with that stupid hair and his stupid jacket. The Doctor tried not to think about the eyes boring into his back and making him uncomfortable. Mental note, he was never coming to Tra'elect Prime ever again.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay, so this chapter was really hard. Super hard. Like, really really hard. (That's what she said.) Anyway, I hope this didn't just blah, cause that's what it feels like. I still have a lot more to do, and a general idea as to where this is going. Still, this is where things get difficult and I need to really strive to do what I feel the characters would actually do in these situations. That being said, please review, I appreciate all comments and thank you to those that have already reviewed. I didn't want you keep you waiting so I went ahead and posted this despite my urge to edit it to death. Enjoy...**

**FOUR**

And they walked. In silence. Until finally, something looked promising, a ladder jutted out from the wall, disappearing in an indent in the ceiling. The Doctor clapped his hands and skipped forward. "Haha, a ladder! Ladders are useful. Ladders lead to things. Places that aren't dark tunnels…" Tunnels that were starting to feel very cramped in present company. The Doctor squirmed out of Amy's grasp and went to see where it led, but she grabbed his arm.

"Wait."

"What is it?" He sighed, wondering what she'd be unable to control this time. He'd avoided grabs, leering, flirty winks, and downright salacious comments. Yes, it was Amy, beautiful Amy, but it really wasn't the time or place. There was also the growing concern that he had begun to fight her advances less and less with each passing minute. A fear he had anticipated, but now felt uneasy about. He had always done things on his terms, when he was ready. And the ex-boyfriend hadn't been watching.

His attention was brought back to the red head clutching his jacket. "I've enough of waiting." Amy breathed. Her fingers laced through his hair and pulled his face toward her mouth. Arms rising in defense, he blinked in shock as she kissed him. It took a few seconds, where he managed to fight her as he had done before, but it didn't last very long. A gentle push against her shoulders, pulling back the smallest fraction of a millimeter, nothing seemed to deter her. Granted, his attempts could have been more bold, but did he really want her to stop? When he really thought about it? She was a great kisser, after all.

Their minds surrendered to their impulses because they had no choice but to do so, and when faced with a beautiful woman snogging him with such necessity, there was a small part of the Doctor that liked it. So, he didn't stop. Normally he would, but he couldn't. He didn't want to. And there was nothing wrong with kissing…except that he really shouldn't be leading her on. Because that's what he was doing. It was wrong, but he was returning the kiss just as fiercely, hands moving clumsily over her waist and back. Women were so soft, so inviting, and the one draped over his face was an excellent example of all the farer sex's better qualities.

Amy threw him against the steel wall, her knee rubbing his thigh as she pinned him there. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, well, if he was honest, it was completely blissfully pleasant. He obviously wasn't complaining, and wouldn't even if he had the will to do so. The Doctor lifted a hand to her hair, brilliant crimson hair, so much softer than it looked. Was there something he was supposed to be doing? Hell, who really cared? Something was not quite right about the situation, but neither of them could remember why. Meaning, they had forgotten Rory.

God, but he didn't want her to stop, and she didn't want to stop. And things would have gotten easily out of control, they were half way to senseless ardor and any chance of breaking his hold on her would have been obliterated. Then Rory managed to close his gaping mouth and react properly. He pulled the Doctor roughly by the shoulder and let him fall backward, landing awkwardly. Breathing ragged and hearts pounding, the Doctor stood quickly, wiping at the moisture around is mouth. He blinked and tried to make his head stop spinning.

Rory looked murderous. He pressed Amy behind him, shielding her. "I think you should go."

"Should…right, probably…go…" The Doctor shook out his hands to stop them trembling. His eyes kept drifting toward Amy, but he managed to put a foot on the ladder, forcing his body to do what _he_ wanted and not what _it_ wanted. Luckily, he wasn't human or he'd have had no hope of leaving her there: tank top ruffled, hair mussed, lips pouting, and just looking heavenly. Yes, if he were human, Rory would have been on the ground with a bloody nose and Amy would need a new tank top. But, again, he wasn't human.

Rory stopped the Doctor from climbing, looking at him sourly. "Why is she all over you, but you're not doing the same thing?" There was hope for him, hope for him and Amy if the Doctor wasn't actually interested. He hoped…well, it was a vain hope after watching them kiss like that. But, he knew that there was still a small chance the Doctor wasn't really in love with Amy and never would be. "If you're, um, you know, all high on flower mind fumes then shouldn't you be trying to make out with her or something?"

"I'm not human, Rory. Not a time bomb of hormones and sex…thoughts."

"Okay, but you kissed her back. Does that mean…does that mean that you love her too?" Rory asked, hoping that the answer was no. "Say you don't." He added before he could stop himself.

The Doctor took a second to find a way to answer without answering exactly. He couldn't lie at the moment and he was terrified of his answer, whatever it turned out to be. Having it come from his own mouth was too final. "It means that I didn't want to tell her no. Or that I didn't want her to stop kissing me, or that I didn't necessarily find it horrible, but possibly pleasant…you know, she's a really good kisser." He patted Rory's back. "But you'd know that already."

Rory glared at him and the Doctor removed his hand slowly.

"You've kissed her haven't you?" The Doctor raised his eyebrows, not understanding the reason for Rory's irritation.

"Of course I have. I've done more than that, thank you very much." He lifted his chin. "And you didn't answer the question. Do you love her?"

"Course I do." He put his hand on Rory's shoulder. "And I love you too, buddy." And he couldn't help adding. "Not all the time, but take what you can get."

Rory rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. Are you _in_ love with Amy?"

"I don't want to answer that." The Doctor put a finger in Rory's face and then took another step up the ladder but Rory grabbed his arm.

"Why not?"

"That's not important. Because I'm afraid. There? Are you happy? I'm terrified and you are not helping anything. Stop asking questions." He continued up the ladder, grumbling under his breath. He looked down as he reached a door, "This is one of those times when I don't love you, by the way." He turned the handle and pushed the door open. "And I didn't mean to say that aloud. Watch Amy." Then he climbed up and out of the tunnel.

Head whipping around, hair bouncing in his eyes, the Doctor tried to get his bearings. The room was expansive, meant to be some sort of cafeteria or gathering place he surmised from the multitude of tables and chairs. He fought the urge to pinch his nose, the sight nearly making him gag. There were people everywhere, all of them decaying.

Closing his eyes he clenched his fists and slammed them on a table. This shouldn't have happened. This was a massacre, and it shouldn't have happened. He could see, even in his quick survey of the scene, what had caused the fatalities.

Most people were sprawled peacefully in their chairs having died because they simply didn't care. Or they were stretched out as if sleeping. Some were covered in blood with pieces missing or heads caved in. A couple was intertwined in a corner, their hands clasped tightly together and their near bones unhindered by clothing. Because that's how it killed you. It acted on your instincts and desires, unfortunately, as he had feared, that didn't include the instinct to survive.

Surely they had noticed? Someone would have figured out there was something wrong. Technology was advanced in this era, they would have detected the elements in the air. They could have fought it. Could. Should. Would.

It was past. There was nothing to do about it now. The settlement had been conquered. The flowers had won. He tried to think of the future, how the plants might then evolve and change to create new intelligent life, but that didn't excuse all the death. It never did. The Doctor used the sonic screwdriver on a corp,mse that seemed to be mostly intact. He shut it quietly and put it back in his pocket, lips forming a hard line.

Their brains had been completely fried. Almost like they had been stripped of every ounce of logic and reason; like they were high and drunk while taking too many pain pills. If he didn't get them out of there soon, they'd be no better off. Amy, Rory, both dead and happy about it.

The Doctor climbed back down the ladder, letting the door fall shut as he went back to Amy and Rory. Because he was the Doctor, he wouldn't let them see how much it hurt. He wouldn't let them see the ache for every life that had been taken, because he felt them all. All those hearts that had needlessly stopped beating. All those breaths not taken. Time had a cruel nature, it could heal but it could also take. It had the power to make things better and to completely devastate everything it touched.

But it was his burden. The humans didn't need to concern themselves with any of it. He was the Doctor. And he would bear it alone…

"Dead. All dead. Death, decaying, dead." Tears fell down his cheeks and he fought to keep his voice under control.

"What?" Amy and Rory inquired in unison.

He wiped his face angrily, pacing in front of them because he had to keep moving. He hated to sit still. He pointed above his head. "There are over a hundred people up there, dead. I don't know what to do about it, there's nothing I can do. But I should've done. Could have, if I was just a bit sooner. Only a couple of years, decade at the most. I'm the Doctor. I save people. I don't let _this_," he pointed above his head, "happen. I won't allow it. No. Not ever. I'm still talking aren't I?" He took a deep breath. "And I'm leaking." He moaned using his sleeve on his cheeks.

"They're all dead?" Rory looked upwards, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Well, Rory, since that is what I just said, yeah I think they are. Pay attention, will you? Can't always dumb everything down for you. You want to stay, try and keep up." The Doctor was perfectly aware that he was only still talking because his mind wasn't able to tell him to stop.

He glared at Rory as the man opened and closed his mouth stupidly. "Alright, now you can pout and Amy will coddle you. Go on. Always works, doesn't it? Get her to fawn all over you because she feels sorry for you." The Doctor assumed a rather girlish, mocking tone, "_Oh, Amy, I'm so sad and nobody likes me. Why do I always seem to be whining or complaining? Not like the Doctor, he's amazing and awesome and he's so cool and smart, I'm so jealous of how cool he is. How could I ever compete with him?_"

The Doctor stopped abruptly and cleared his throat, his fingers lacing together in front of him. "And that's…that was supposed to be you, I was doing an impression. You don't sound that girly though, so…there's something." The Doctor looked at Amy, her eyes wide in alarm. She had never seen him get so riled up. He was almost mean, a petty mean that she had always believed he was incapable of being. Because he wasn't human. Because he was the Doctor and he was better than anyone she had ever known.

The pain in her eyes made him stop talking, because he didn't want her to look at him like that. He raked his hands through his hair and leaned against the wall, arms crossed sourly.

"I think we all need to take a second and just—"

"Shut up, Rory." Amy and the Doctor spoke together, their glares equally malicious.

Minutes ticked by in quiet and the Doctor fought for control. He knew that it was pointless to just stand there and pout and sulk and wallow, there was something more important he needed to do. Something about not dying or killing each other? Something about getting back to the TARDIS and getting off this horrible moon before he did anything else he would regret. But it just wouldn't come to him. He just wanted to sit there and forget about all those people that he couldn't save and all the ones before them.

"I want to go home." Rory said suddenly, his voice low and quiet.

"I want you to love me." Amy mumbled, her eyes peaking shyly at the Doctor.

"I want to stop thinking. Just once. Just for a second." The Doctor closed his eyes. He fell backward against the wall, his body sliding to the floor. His chest rose and fell evenly and his long limbs fell limply against the floor.

"Doctor?" Amy rushed forward, her hands pulling up his face. She shook his head, but it only rolled around in her hands uselessly. "No. Don't do this. Wake up."

Rory stood beside her, concerned but unable to admit it. "I think…I think he actually stopped thinking. Can he do that?" Amy sent him a harsh glare and he shut his mouth. The Doctor was still lying motionless on the floor under her hands, the only indication that he was still alive being the gentle rise and fall of his chest and the soft beating of his hearts.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: First, thank you to everyone who reviewed, faved, alerted this story. ^_^ Second, I'm sorry for the delay in posting this, haven't had much of a chance to write. Anyway, hope you like it. Reviews are appreciated. Enjoy.**

**FIVE**

A tentative silence and uncertain stares took the place of the motionless Doctor. Without his inane chatter making everything better the fact that they were stranded on an alien planet suddenly seemed extremely frightening. The Doctor's face twitched, but otherwise he remained immobile. Amy's arm cradled his head, and she ran her free hand through his hair absently.

"This is what he was talking about. This is why he wanted us to get out of here. Because he knew this would happen." Amy took a breath, angry with herself. It wasn't her fault that she had been acting so strangely and possibly making things worse, but it felt like it was. She ran her fingers through his hair, over and over, because that's what she wanted to do. Because it was both a soothing assurance and because she had wanted to since the second time she had met him. The first time she had been too young to care.

"Do you have to stroke him like that? It's like you're petting a cat." Rory spat, his temper beginning to rise again. He closed his eyes. "Sorry."

"Don't be jealous." She soothed, her eyes fondly following the motion of her hands.

"Jealous? Oh, right. Because that's a completely ridiculous emotion to be feeling right now. Sorry, Amy, but I think at this point I have the right to feel however I want." He held his breath. No one talked to Amy that way…save the Doctor and even he didn't always walk away unscathed.

"I know." She closed her eyes. "Damn it, I know you have every right to be upset, angry, whatever, but this is so not the time. Alright?" Her voice was crisp, and her unease with their situation was showing.

"It's not like I can help it…" He ran a hand through his hair. "I love you Amy. I'll do what I can to help…I'll…I'll figure something out…" He looked back and forth then up. It seemed futile. The Doctor always got them out of any situation, no matter how hopeless it looked or how bleak…Rory succeed in making himself feel worse. He'd never been able to compete with him, but now it was just sad. He slumped uselessly against the wall because what else was there for him to do?

"I'm sure you could, but we don't have that kind of time. We need him." She let the Doctor's head fall back to the ground gently, kissing his forehead before standing. "Rory, I love you too. I really do, but I'm just not in love with you anymore…"

"Yeah, I get it. I'm not exciting or heroic. I'll never live up to…" He shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it. I want to go home and not stick around here slowing you both down. If I didn't still care about you I'd already be gone." He bit his lip, wishing he could keep his mouth shut.

"We shouldn't be talking about this. We should be finding a way out…" She put a hand on the ladder. "Do you think we could carry him?"

"I don't think so. Possibly together, but where would we go? There's no way we'd get him up the ladder without killing him…" Rory pulled at the Doctor's arm, managing to get him in a sitting position before letting him fall backward, head smashing the wall awkwardly. "Ow….sorry." He turned to Amy, "He's too heavy, we'd never get him up that ladder."

"Then what do we do? I'm not leaving him." She stood her ground fiercely, daring him to suggest otherwise.

"If we get to the TARDIS we could come back for him." Rory offered. "If we knew how to fly it…"

"Doesn't matter, cause I'm not moving a step without him. Got it?"

_Squeak._

"What was that?" Amy's arms were still crossed defiantly.

Rory looked around, but they seemed to be alone. "I don't…know?"

_Squeak._

"Stop doing that." Amy ordered.

"Doing what? I'm not doing anything." Rory defended.

"Shh…" She held her hand up to his face. "I think it's stopped."

Rory shook his head. "No, strange noises never just go away. If there's one thing I've learned, things never just go away. Something's out there…and if they've stopped it's bout to get worse…" He was whispering, because the sudden silence was making him uneasy.

The squeaking stopped, but was followed by a thud and then a straining sound, like grinding metal. Amy held her breath. She looked up, her hand still holding one of the rungs on the ladder. "Rory…"

"What?" He hissed, fear making him jumpy. He was almost considering running, the only thing that stopped him was not knowing which way.

"We need to pick up the Doctor. Now…" Amy knelt down and started pulling at the Doctor's coat. Rory looked at her with a sneer.

"Good lord, Amy, haven't you had enough yet? I'm standing right here." He hissed again, more venom in his voice than he meant. He may be fine with the situation eventually, but that was eventually…which didn't mean right then.

"No, I haven't…Damn it, but that's not what I'm doing." She pulled the screwdriver out of the Doctor's pocket and stopped. Her fingers brushed the buttons on his shirt. How could he be comfortable with the collar done up so high? Maybe she could just loosen it…undo just a few buttons…not all of them…just…some…

"Amy!" Rory looked up, finally noticing that someone, or thing, was trying to open the door above them. For some reason, it was taking them awhile, but Rory didn't stop to think about that. He grabbed the screwdriver from a love-sick Amy and began pushing buttons, holding it above his head and feeling very silly. How did the Doctor manage to making using such a thing look impressive?

The twist handle on the door stopped turning and Rory breathed in relief. He tossed the screwdriver at Amy and began lifting her up by her arms.

"What do you think you're doing?" She squirmed and stopped him from running further down the tunnel.

"We need to leave."

"Not without him."

"He's too heavy."

Amy groaned in frustration and knelt beside the Doctor's limp form. "Doctor, please wake up. Wake up. Wake up. I need you." She shook him and poked him, but he didn't flinch. Her hand was once again running through his hair and she couldn't stop the frustrated tears from falling down her cheeks. "Damn it, you never let me down. Don't do this now…"

Rory took an exaggerated breath. "He's going to get us all killed, this time for real." He lifted his foot and kicked the Doctor in the side, not hard but not softly either. "Wake up, already."

"Don't kick him, you big baby." Amy snapped glaring at Rory who returned her stare with agitation. She sighed, "Just take a leg." Amy ordered, grabbing the Doctor by an ankle. Rory didn't look happy about the suggestion, but when the door opened and sickly whispering sounds drifted toward them he didn't complain.

Amy pulling one leg, and Rory with the other, they dragged the Doctor down the tunnel as forms began to take shape where they had just been standing. His head smacked clumps of dirt, and cracks in the metal flooring, jacket and arms extended over his head as it flopped uselessly. Amy apologized for the situation, and Rory smiled, taking a small amount of satisfaction from the possible bruising that would undoubtedly occur.

The forms at the end of the hall lumbered forward. They didn't seem to be capable of moving quickly, and their hunched figures made them look almost deformed. But then again, they were alien and could therefore be adequately formed. All they could really tell about them was that their skin was green, their limbs were long and gangly, and their breathing was wheezy.

"So do we just drag him forever? There's no end in sight. We'd never get to a place where we could escape." Rory offered unhelpfully, he had to keep readjusting his grip on the Doctor's pant leg.

"We will figure something out, alright?" Amy snapped. "Stop whining. He'd never make a fuss if you were the one being dragged about by your legs."

"Oh, he so would." Rory argued, but Amy didn't have a chance to answer him. At that moment, a voice called out behind them and they dropped the Doctor and turned abruptly. The Doctor groaned, but otherwise didn't stir.

"Whach'ya looking at?" A boy whispered harshly, motioning for them to follow him frantically. "I said come along. Grab your friend and hurry it up."

"What…who?" Rory pointed, but Amy was already grabbing the Doctor and following. There was a small door in the side of the tunnel, one almost invisible unless it was opened. There were three more small heads inside, all were gesturing for them to follow.

"Into the tiny door, Rory." Amy ordered. "No questions. Just move." Rory put his hand down and followed her, the first boy glanced down the tunnel and then disappeared quickly after them, shutting the panel behind him. A small girl hit a quick sequence of numbers then released a sigh.

The first boy looked at them carefully. He was clearly older than the others, but he looked to be only eleven. His ebony hair was falling into his eyes and looked in need of grooming as did the rest of him. Lifting a skeptical eye he spoke to Amy, who he assumed was in charge. "You're new here."

"Yeah, how'd you guess?" Amy smiled.

The boy let out a dark laugh. "Cause you ain't dead like the rest of the adults." He looked at the Doctor still unconscious on the ground. "Best wake him up. He's dead weight otherwise. Andi."

A whispy haired girl stepped forward, her belt holding a multitude of pouches and tools. She pushed butter-cream colored bangs from her eyes and lifted the Doctor's head. Without a word she lowered his head and pulled a glass container from her belt. Opening the stopper she held it under his nose and swished it back and forth before taking it away again.

The Doctor stirred, and rolled onto his side. He moaned in annoyance. "Five more minutes."

Amy was at his side, gazing at him fondly. The Doctor opened his eyes and looked up at her in confusion. "Amy. Your hand is on my head."

"Does that bother you?" She teased.

"No." He blinked and sat up fully. "What happened? Where did the tiny people come from?"

"Yeah, they're children genius. And you stopped thinking." Rory stated.

"I did?" The Doctor looked at him curiously, like he wasn't sure Rory was real. His mind was still trying to get back to full capacity.

"Yes. Said you wanted to stop thinking and then you just sort of fell and I guess, stopped thinking."

"Don't you remember?" Amy asked.

"Not sure, I wasn't paying attention." He used the wall to stand and then things started to come back to him. Closing his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Agh, and here comes the headache. Never stop thinking, either of you. It's not all it's cracked up to be. My head is pounding…"

"Look, we can't just be standing around. Got things to do." The oldest boy crossed his arms, his youth offset by the dark look and his militant attire.

"Hello." The Doctor bent to his level, hands on his knees. Headache forgotten. "I'm the Doctor. What do they call you then?"

The boy looked at him skeptically. "Doctor?"

"Yeah. Cool name right?" The Doctor smiled warmly, but the boy was unimpressed.

"Nah, just think it's weird. You an actual doctor though? A proper one?"

The Doctor eyed the little boy, getting closer than was necessary but not knowing that he was breaking any social boundaries. "Why? Do you need a doctor?"

"What're you thick?" The boy replied. "You've seen them. You telling me you ain't noticed strange behavior? That your friend over there's been staring at you like you're made of candy?"

Amy cleared her throat and looked at her shoes.

"Fair point." The Doctor straightened. "Alright then…"

"Terrin."

"Terrin then, I don't know exactly what's going on here and I've still got a bit of a…" He pointed at his forehead. "Head, well, still not fully remembering what's going on exactly, but I will, shortly. And when I do, rest assured, I'll do something brilliant."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Terrin had put himself between the Doctor and the other children, arms crossed and defiant.

"Oh, you don't. You never know who you can trust." The Doctor gave him a smile, "But what choice've you got?"

Fighting a smile, Terrin conceded, nodding. "Alright then, you say you can help, then we'll give you a chance."

"That's all I ask." The Doctor was keen to follow, the curiosity overwhelming. He nearly forgot that Amy and Rory were still there, but turned abruptly to them as they waited for acknowledgement. "You two seem okay, nothing exciting happen while I was out?"

"Well, you know…just some monster alien things chasing us…" Amy explained tucking hair behind her ears.

"I see." He stood for a second, then he blinked. "Something's off. Somethings…" He put a hand on the back of his head and winced. He shook dust and dirt from his hand and then frowned. "You didn't…"

"Did what?" Amy looked guilty and tried not to make eye contact.

"But my coat…" He turned in circles to try and see his back, managing to pull the end into his vision and smacking the dirt from it. "I love this coat."

"Rather we have left you? Cause that's starting to seem like the better option." Rory fumed. "You should be grateful we didn't leave you back there to be eaten or something."

"No, she'd never let you." The Doctor responded absently as he removed his coat and shook it out. Finally he sighed in relief, hand on his chest. "Oh thank heaven. It's fine. No holes. Still cool."

"We don't have forever." Terrin interrupted, "Hurry along or we'll just leave you to find your own way."

Terrin started walking, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory falling into step a few paces behind him.

"They don't seem to be too frazzled by the flowers, do they?" Amy whispered to the Doctor.

"Makes sense." The Doctor nodded. Amy and Rory looked confused. With a roll of his eyes, he explained. "Children are already driven almost completely by what they want, aren't they? No hidden agenda. They'll not likely suffer any sort of symptoms till at least fifteen. You know, teenagers."

"It's fourteen actually." The girl who had revived the Doctor, Andi, stepped forward. "The chemical begins at that stage, but it has a slow progression rate until they reach about sixteen, then it heightens to a level even more aggressive than the adults." She shrugged shyly, her blue eyes downcast. "I've done a bit of analyzing on the flowers themselves—"

"Andromeda. We don't need a science lesson right now." Terrin scolded.

The Doctor gave Terrin a sharp look. But Amy had stepped forward, eyes flashing dangerously. "Oy, don't you talk to her like that, alright?"

Terrin looked uneasy for a second before shrugging off the implied threat. "She's just a brainy know it all. I'm the one to see that we all don't end up dead or eaten by the Fedoom."

"Nothing wrong with a brainy know it all." The Doctor argued. He ignored Rory's snort of laughter.

"Like I said, we can't just hang about all day. We'll take you back with us and get you situated from there. Though, won't be long for you've gone loopy like the rest of them." Terrin started walking again, the other children following him quietly.

Amy grabbed the Doctor's hand. "That kid's got some serious attitude."

The Doctor didn't take his eyes off the back of Terrin's head as he weaved through twisting corridors and hallways. "He's a lot on his shoulders. It's no picnic being responsible for the well being of everyone around you."

"You do okay. You're not a mouthy little punk." She smiled. "Right?"

The Doctor gave her a dark look. "Wish I was."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rory asked, feeling left out again.

"It means that, in comparison, I'd rather be a little mouthy." He put his hands in his pockets. "Really wish you'd stop asking me questions I have to answer honestly. It's annoying and rather terrifying. You won't always like what you hear."

Rory and Amy exchanged a look as the Doctor broke her hold and walked ahead of them. When they finally got to a large room, there were at least ten more children working on various tasks. None looked younger than nine or older than thirteen. Beds were stacked like bunk beds along the back wall. Computers and monitors were set up on tables along another, most of the open space filled with tables and chairs.

One child was sitting alone behind glass. Her face downcast and pained. She rocked back and forth, her knees tucked to her chin, humming softly. The Doctor looked at the determined faces of too many children left to grow up too quickly. Painfully the Doctor closed his eyes and tried not to let the overwhelming sadness make him incapable of acting. He felt his head clear, because what he wanted right then, was to help.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: First, to all who reviewed, thank you. Really, your comments make my day and make me want to keep writing this. ^_^ Enjoy.**

**SIX**

"Yes, blue."

"And it's a box?"

The Doctor huffed. "Yes. A box. And it is blue."

Terrin looked at a stack of metal crates, one a very deep shade of navy. "That's a blue box."

"No, that's a cube. This is more of a…rectangular prism. And it's bigger."

"How much bigger?"

"A lot."

"So, then how'd you lose it in the first place?"

"Listen you—"

"Really? He's like ten and you're going to keep arguing with him?" Amy lifted her eyebrows haughtily. The Doctor's arms were crossed and he was pouting.

The Doctor protested, "I just want to know if—"

"Yeah, if I've seen the _blue police box._" Terrin shook his head. "Anyway, that's a question for Andi, not me."

"Good. Cause I'm done talking to you." The Doctor pointed at a smirking Terrin. "You're disagreeable and argumentative."

"Your hair looks silly." Terrin countered childishly, granted, he actually was a child.

The Doctor opened his mouth in shock. "At least I can reach the above the third shelf."

"What shelf?"

"It's a saying. Ha, who's stupid now?"

"Doctor. Ten year old." Amy rested her arm on his shoulder, slouching against him. "So, why don't you focus on the task ahead and forget fighting a losing battle with a child."

"Psh…losing…I was definitely winning…" The Doctor grumbled, shuffling away. Terrin glared at Amy.

"I'm thirteen."

"Thirteen, ten, same difference." She waved a hand.

"No. Ten year olds are babies." Terrin scoffed.

"Yeah, well, to me you're all babies so how's that?" Amy bent in his face.

"It sounds like the typical adult argument for everything."

The Doctor tapped on Amy's shoulder. "See, now who's the one arguing with children?"

"Yeah, whatever." She crossed her arms. "So. Did you find the TARDIS?"

"Yes."

Amy waited. "And…?"

"Oh, and we've no way of reaching it from here. It's clear on the other side of the settlement. You know that tunnel we were in? Funny story, that seems to run completely around the perimeter of the base here. We were walking in a circle." He bounced on his feet happily, obviously seeing humor in the situation.

Amy, however, was not amused. "A circle? And you're smiling?"

"Well, it's sort of funny _now_." Still not amused. "Okay, not funny. Suit yourself. Wouldn't kill you to smile."

"Excuse me?"

The Doctor bit his lip to keep from opening his mouth and shook his head.

"No, go on, say what you're thinking. I know you can't help it." She moved in his face, challenging him.

He continued to shake his head, looking petrified.

"Doctor." She warned.

"What's that Rory? Oh, you want to know how we're going to get back to the TARDIS?" The Doctor's voice rose louder than necessary.

Rory, not forgotten after all, looked confused and pointed to his chest. "Me? I didn't say—"

"Course you did." The Doctor moved around Amy carefully and put a hand on Rory's shoulder. "Trust me you were about to. If I know you, you'd be wanting to get home more than anyone else, am I right?" He elbowed him jokingly in the side.

"What, uh, what's that supposed to mean?" Rory glared at the Doctor as he rested on his shoulder, using Rory like a table or wall to support himself.

"You know." The Doctor leaned closer, lifting a hand to his mouth as he stage whispered "Cause you've been dumped." He winked. "I get you. See, don't say I never remember you cause I do. I consider your feelings. And right now, oh, you must be feeling awful. Horrible. Probably, if I had to guess, worst you've ever felt."

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder."

"Don't mention it." The Doctor patted his shoulder.

"Yeah, okay, so you're the biggest douche bag like ever." Rory fumed.

"Sorry?" The Doctor put his hands together and titled his head as if he hadn't heard correctly. He had been trying to sympathize…right? Wait, he'd said that Rory was dumped…feeling awful…not forgotten…what was the issue?

"You don't have to rub it in." Rory snapped. "You've won. Haha. Everyone concede the Doctor another victory."

"Wait…that's not what I meant…when did things become my fault?"

"Are you bloody kidding?" Rory's temper was rising. The Doctor, it seemed, could not avoid conflict with anyone at the moment. "Everything's your fault."

"Well, that's hardly fair. Everything? I'm not the one who made you wear that vest." The Doctor picked at the article like it was diseased. "I thought these went out of style…I was so happy about that…them and platform shoes…" He glanced at Rory's feet, as if to reassure himself that he wasn't four inches too tall.

Rory flicked his hand away sharply. "It's not the vest, okay? It's everything else. It's Amy. It's the fact that we're stuck here on a hostile planet—"

"Moon."

Rory reached for the Doctor's neck, but the Doctor evaded. "Gah! Moon, planet, what-the-hell-ever, we could die here and it will be on your head. You do understand that right?"

The Doctor stopped smiling. "Course I understand that."

"Rory, that's enough…"

"Shut up, Amy. You're half the reason I'm stuck here too. I'd never have come if it weren't for you. But simple quiet life is too mundane for you isn't it? You had to run off and leave me…You didn't even come back for me, it was his idea. You were going to travel the universe and you weren't even going to tell me?" His eyes softened. Damn it, why'd he have to still be in love with her? Love should let you go when the other person has, but no, it has to cling on and make you miserable.

"I'm sorry. Rory, I'm so sorry. I was scared, confused…" She closed her eyes, knowing she was about to say too much. "I wasn't ready to marry you."

"Ah. I see." He laughed darkly. "Well, I guess it's a good thing we found that out now, eh?" His attention returned to the Doctor, who's good cheer had completely vanished. "Happy?"

"No." He said simply.

"Good. That's something, at least."

"I always know, Rory." The Doctor began quietly.

"What?" Rory took a deep breath, suddenly he felt very drained. He started walking toward one of the chairs and sat down before he could stop himself. The Doctor turned toward him again, also, unable to help himself.

"I know exactly how much danger we are in, I always know. The only thing I ever worry about is how to keep everyone safe. Not myself. You and Amy. Them." He motioned toward the children in the room who had not vanished simply because they were having a private conversation, but who were listening intently and enjoying their first source of entertainment in months.

"Everyone. Every human, every creature, no one should die needlessly, no one should have to suffer. I do whatever I can so that that doesn't happen. Do I always succeed?" His eyes were intent, not letting Rory look away, but forcing him to hear every word. "No. I don't. And I hope that you _never_ have to live with that. Rory, don't you ever assume that I don't care about what happens to you again. And don't ever assume that I don't know that people die because of me."

Rory shifted uncomfortably. "I just…you never really act…"

"Act? Act what, exactly? Like it bothers me? Like it doesn't completely kill me every time one more soul dies because I couldn't protect them or because I was too late? I hate it. I hate all of it, but that's my life. I have to live with it because that's what I have to do." He took a deep breath. "Now. I really would like to drop this conversation before I say anything else I don't particularly want to share."

Rory nodded. Amy held her shoulders. Terrin cleared his throat, but shrank back a bit when three heads snapped in his direction with harsh glares. No one seemed to be happy anymore. Amy blinked, the end of the conversation leaving her mind to wander when she didn't want it to.

"Is there any place here that isn't a million degrees?" She pinched her tank top and used the small amount of fabric to attempt to fan herself. "Why do women's clothes always have to be so constricting?" She groaned.

"This is a tropical moon, there's heat and humidity everywhere." Terrin said.

"Then why would you want to live here?" She asked.

He shrugged. "We didn't have a choice, did we? It's our parents that brought us here. This building is the first settlement on Tra'elect Prime. That's why we're all so close in age."

"Yeah, but why here? This planet sucks." Amy said.

"Why anywhere? I dunno. Cause it was there, I guess." Terrin shrugged.

The Doctor chuckled. "Cause it was there…ah, I never get tired of that."

"Actually, it was because of the palladium." Andromeda hiked up her slender shoulders, looking unsure of herself. "The settlement was created to mine for it. My parents were geologists."

The Doctor bent forward, smiling at the shy girl. "Why didn't anyone notice the flowers poisoning the air? Even a settlement would have the technology. They must have been cautious."

"Yes. They took every precaution; the problem didn't arise until a year after the first group arrived here. At first, our sensors and scans were too weak to pick up anything, just a faint trace of something they assumed to be normal atmospheric conditions, and it didn't appear deadly. Those flowers you were talking about, I've looked them over, and they were not part of the original catalogue of native plantlife."

The Doctor nodded. "So someone must have put them here."

"The fedoom engineered them somehow." She replied, whisking a strand of hair from her large blue eyes. "They're synthetic."

"Synthetic?" The Doctor stood with a frown. "Synthetic? No. Can't be…"

"So they're man-made, or fey…doom-made, whatever, does it matter?" Amy asked, noting the Doctor's faraway look.

"Yes, it matters. It matters very much."

"Why?"

He looked at Amy. "Because the sonic screwdriver couldn't tell. It could barely handle indentifying the toxins in the air. If it can't tell what it is, that worries me because there is very little it can't do. Makes me wonder what kind of creatures the fedoom really are." He put his hands in his pockets and began pacing.

"They don't seem like anything too scary. Really slow, actually." Amy offered, remembering when they had been 'chased' by the creatures.

"And uncoordinated. Took them like ten minutes just to open that door above us." Rory added, trying to be helpful.

"See, that makes me even more nervous…" The Doctor put his hands together, going over things in his head.

"Why? It means they're probably weak and easily defeated." Rory shrugged.

"No. It means they're smart enough not to need physical ability." The Doctor clarified.

"What? Like smarter than you?" Amy laughed.

The Doctor frowned.

"Come on, really?" Amy continued to chuckle, because to her, the idea was ridiculous. "Doctor, really?" He was just staring at her. "Could they really be smarter than even you?"

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" He smiled lightly. "Sure hope not, though. Wouldn't that suck?"

**A/N: Yes, so this turned out to be like 95% dialogue...but somehow it doesn't feel that way. Good thing? I don't know, but it's hard not to be dialogue driven when you're writing for a TV show. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you again to everyone who reviews and continues to read this. Though this was the plan, here is the Amy/11 goodness that people have been asking for. I tried really hard to keep them in character, but there are somethings they have to do because, well, they can't help it. Also, this was really hard to write and I'm still not 100% comfortable with it, but with these kinds of things I never am, so I posted anyway. Hope you enjoy the chapter and there should be another shortly. Note: November is Nation Novel Writing Month (google: NaNoWriMo if you want to look it up.) And for that time I probably won't be updating, I'll try, but no promises. I'll get as much as I can done before then. For now, enjoy the chapter and reviews are always appreciated. **

**SEVEN**

The Doctor scooted a stool closer to the work table. He held a flower Andromeda had presented and twirled it slowly. Every aspect seemed genuine. It was a beautiful job, he marveled. The material was authentic, like they synthesized actual flower cells, but it was really a form of plastic. Not living plastic, this was still an inanimate object unlike what he had encountered before. This couldn't move or think on it's own. Amazing. He held up the sonic, but it still registered as biological. He turned the flower on its side and placed the sonic at the end of the hollowed stem. He smiled.

"Interesting."

Andromeda leaned on her elbows to get a closer view, fascinated by the screwdriver. "What? What did it say?"

He glanced sideways, then continued his scrutiny of the subject. "It says that the inside registers as artificial. The rest of this is bio-plastic. I've never seen it before, artificial materials with all the chemical properties of a biological lifeform. Ingenious. I mean, I've seen it the other way around, but it's always nice to find something new." He chuckled. "These," He showed her the stem of the flower. "Are hollow. A feed for the gases to flow through the vines like pipes."

"Yeah, yeah." She hopped down, eyes sparkling as she grabbed at a notebook and brought it to the table. "See, I've worked that much out, cause that means there is a source. If we could find it we could destroy it, but…" She pointed at a drawing. "I've mapped out where I've looked and nothing."

"Maybe that's not necessary." He mused. He took a pencil and flipped to a blank page in her book. He ran a hand through is hair, squinting at the paper as he tried to read his own handwriting.

"Doctor?"

Andromeda turned around, but the Doctor recognized the voice and closed his eyes slowly. So much for working in peace. Andromeda tapped her fingers on the table, shifting uncomfortably. "I should probably see to my chores now…let me know if you find anything." She hopped off her stool. Amy let her pass before entering the room, pushing hair behind her ears and wondering why the Doctor had completely stopped moving.

"So. Find anything interesting?" She leaned out over the table, letting her arms support her weight and her hair fall over her bare shoulders. "That one of those flowers? Still looks so real, doesn't it?"

The Doctor kept his eyes on his work. _Damn it, they were completely alone._

_Oh yeah, completely alone. _Amy nudged him with her shoulder. "Come on, what're you so sour about?"

"I'm not sour." He argued. "Just don't think it's such a good idea for you to be here. I'm busy." He kept his tone even, trying to sound casual. Amy wasn't convinced.

She eyed him, "Ah. Busy. Well, I can help. What do you want me to do?" She tilted her head suggestively, sliding her arms and body closer along the table. He glanced at her and turned in his chair so his back was to her.

"If you want to help go see what Rory's up to. Bet he's moping somewhere…" A glance over his shoulder. "Best to keep him away from sharp objects."

Amy picked at her nails. "You really think he'd hurt himself?" It hurt to say that, but she knew there was always a possibility. Maybe not under normal conditions, but now…

"Yeah, that too." He corrected, going back to facing away from her. So maybe he was worried that Rory would come after him before hurting himself, but Amy did have a point and he wasn't about to admit that if she didn't ask him directly.

She looked up from her hands. His back was facing her, and he had removed his jacket, no doubt finally feeling the extreme heat. She fanned herself. "What're these drawings?" She asked, motioning at his handwriting.

"Amy, I think it's best, for the time being, if everyone keeps their distance." He ignored her question.

"What? Scared?" She chuckled, knowing that she was making him uncomfortable and loving every second of it.

"Of course I'm not." He looked at her and straightened his shoulders. "Scared." Finally, he was looking at her and that made her smirk victoriously. "You know what I meant Amy." He held up a hand when she opened her mouth. "It's okay. It's not your fault. You can't help it. I mean, look at me."

"I am. So what?" Her eyes danced playfully, and he knew that she was making this a game, and he really wished he didn't enjoy playing so much.

"Precisely. That." He pointed to her face and her low neckline and her slightly damp hair sticking to her shoulders. "That look you're giving me. I don't like it. It's unnerving. You're going to do something you'll regret if you don't listen to me, for once, and just go."

"Oh?" She sidled closer, purring and pushing out her hip not bothering to fix the fabric riding up her stomach. "And what would I do that I'll be regretting, Doctor?"

"You know perfectly—" He slipped off the stool and hurried to pull it further from her advance. "Perfectly well." That coy flirting would be his undoing, he knew it. The challenge and assurance she possessed…he scooted another few inches backward.

"Don't sound so scared. You were perfectly willing a few hours ago." She raised her eyebrows, advancing on his retreat, smirking when he scooted right into a wall.

He put his hands behind him, cursing. "Amy. You don't know what you're doing. You're not yourself. This is dangerous…" He stood up and the stool fell over. "…Amy I won't say it again." He tried to scold her, but it was a feeble attempt.

"Why's it always got to be life and death with you?"

"Cause that's my life." He countered. "Every second, life and death. We could die here Amy, I'm trying to tell you." He hit his forehead in frustration, but still, he wasn't making an attempt to leave. "That's why this is so dangerous. This is when we forget what we need to be doing."

"What do we need to be doing?" She asked, advancing at an agonizingly slow pace.

"We, I should…well I was trying to…" He made a fist and pounded his head. "Think. Think. What was it…" They were in danger, no wait, he was in danger, no she was, no he wanted her to be, no he wanted her to stop, no not stop… He was ready to pull his hair out. "Okay, that's not the point. The point is, I am pretty sure that you were supposed to be somewhere…supposed to be leaving."

She reached out a hand, and his breath caught in his throat, her fingers running down the strap of his suspenders. "Alright then, Doctor. Seeing as how you have to tell me the truth," Her eyes lowered seductively and he braced for a strike of some kind, "Tell me you want me to leave, and I'll go."

"You should leave." He responded hoarsely, his fingers pulled at his bowtie, hoping to loosen it and allow him to breathe. She was too close and wearing too little for comfort, and he was pretty sure he did actually want her to leave.

"Ah, ah." She put her finger in his face, scolding him. "Tell me you _want_ me to go."

"I want…" He closed his mouth and tried again. "Amy, Amelia, I want you to…" No good, damn it he knew the words before they left his mouth and he knew that they were the wrong ones, even if he did want to say them. But no matter what happened, even in the face of certain death, which had the sexiest red hair and beautiful mischievous green eyes, he could not say that he never wanted her to leave. "I want you to not…be in the presence of a person that would possibly lead to everyone dying and be very bad for everything in general." Well, at least he wasn't begging her to stay. How sad would that have been? He straightened his shoulders, no longer cowering under her stare. There, Amy, try and sort through all that, she'd never do it in this condition. Ha.

"What?"

He grew more confident. "You heard me. So, you should be leaving now. Okay. Bye then. Tell Rory I said hi, won't be working too long. Remember, no sharp objects…nothing that could be potentially harmful to me-him." He grabbed her elbow and began to push her towards the door, but he didn't get far.

Amy didn't budge, her head lowered toward the floor. Her narrow shoulders slumped, her hair falling from behind her ears. "Why do you want to get rid of me so badly?" She pouted, her voice low and timid. Yes, this was still Amy.

He stopped, afraid that he had hurt her feelings, because for some reason, he really did care about them. "I didn't…I don't…" Um, this was awkward. He'd never heard her like this, meek and wounded. What the hell was he supposed to do? He let go, and stepped toward her for a hug, but thought better of it. He put a hand to his chin, thinking. Maybe patting her shoulder. His hand extended. No good, too much skin.

Amy sniffled.

No. Was she crying? He hit his hands together anxious to do something, because more than anything he didn't want her to cry, and even more than that he didn't want to be the cause. "Amy, look, I'm sorry. There. No need to, you know, cry…" His fingers brushed her hair, "Please don't…I don't know how to deal with you when you cry…"

When he lifted her head there weren't tears. Just a smirk before her arms were around his neck. "Gotcha." She pressed her forehead against his, throwing her full weight on him.

The Doctor staggered to catch her, dumbfounded. "What was…you…you were faking?"

"Worked. You came back."

"Amy that was…horrible." He glared at her, but it was really halfhearted and pathetic. "That was…"

"Don't sound too upset, though do you?" She put her head on his shoulder, sighing happily. She just wanted a few seconds of being comfortable before she struck again. Not that he was putting up much of a fight, she noted happily. His arms were holding her, and she was sure he hadn't even realized it yet because he was too busy thinking about how she had tricked him. Yeah, she could see his face scrunching in disappointment.

"I am…" He closed his eyes. "Not upset." His head fell backward, his arms sliding to his sides. "This sucks, on so many levels." He ran his hands through is hair before finally glancing down at Amy, her head innocently resting on his shoulder. Her face nowhere near as arrogant as it had been, just content. Just looking at him expectantly. Just moving closer. He moved away a fraction of an inch, because that was all he could manage right then.

She didn't stop, because she couldn't. This was what she wanted. More than going home, more than Rory, more than anything in her life before. He didn't fight her, but he didn't encourage her either. She knew enough about things to understand the differences and to read body language. He was scared, she could sense it when he sucked in air as she pressed against his mouth. His arms straining against her sides, his eyes closed tightly, as if he was too afraid to open them. She brought her head back, allowed him to breathe because he looked in pain more than anything.

"Docto—"

To both of their surprise, he followed her, and stopped from talking because he didn't have the power not to. Amy blinked in delighted shock and returned the action expertly, mouth opening more than willingly.

It was hot and muggy in the room. Too hot for what they were doing. Too hot for his hands to be running across her cheek and through her hair and down her back and up her shirt. Too hot for her to be pressing her thigh up his leg and her chest against his shirt and clawing at his head.

The Doctor found his head completely flooded by hormones and dizzy. He felt like he was spinning every time he tried to think, and it was becoming less and less important for him to try. There was something wrong with the situation. Something to do with Amy, she was different, he was responsible for her, something like he shouldn't be leading her on and giving in to emotions because it wasn't right for either of them. The back of his mind screamed at him, shouted and pleaded, but went unheard. His instincts were muddled and he really could care less what rational thought wanted. Logic could go jump in a super nova.

Legs and arms twisted around him pleasantly, her, Amy, that was her name…he tried to concentrate on facts again, but it wasn't working. All he could see was: hair, face, body, and that they were all willing. And if there was one thing he didn't do, as the Doctor, he would never disappoint.

The soft sounds escaping Amy's throat were proof of that. She broke away to take a breath, nearly overwhelmed and very winded. Breathing didn't seem as important when he was running his lips over her face like that. For a second, she realized the back of her legs were pressed against the table when she remembered starting on the other side of the room, but her mind was silenced as she was dipped backwards, body falling flat against the table. Every nerve was on fire, tingling and sensitive, she could hear herself gasping, but she didn't hear a sound otherwise. She had thought she was in control, obviously the more skilled in these matters. Fancied that she'd be the one making him cower and tremble, moan and pant, but that wasn't how it was playing out. She was the one being controlled. Commanded to lift her arms over her head and then to run a finger over the buttons on his shirt, popping them out of place. All of it guided by a superiority, a worldliness she should have known but never considered. He _was_ much much older than her.

Heat rushed to her cheeks and something screamed at her to hold on, to breathe, to take a step back and consider where they were and what they were doing, but that's not what her body wanted at the moment. Because did she really want any of this when it wasn't real? Did she really want him to be fawning over her right now if he didn't want to? But he did, but he didn't have a choice. She opened her mouth to ask for a second to think, but her voice begged, "more."

The room was swirling into oblivion around them. Nothing made sense: up or down, right or wrong, real or fake. Every line that could be blurred was smeared across their thoughts in a mess of color and feeling, emotions and pleasure were the only things they could understand. But in the back of both their thoughts they knew it was not pleasure, it was prison, something they were being forced to do and could no longer control and could no longer see around. Whatever joy they could have had in that moment was lost to their melting sanity, leaving them nothing more than hollow shells moving on instinct in slow blissful torture.

**A/N: Okay, I just want this to be clear. They will end up together. That is the point of this story, but right now they are under and outside psychological influence that has them doing things they normally wouldn't. Just until the psycho flowers are over, anything they say or do is not as real as if they had the free will to say or do it...if that makes sense? Plus, the flowers heighten things to the point where simple desires and pleasures can be lethal, all they care about is physical and it's making nothing else matter, living, getting to the TARDIS, breathing. That's the deadly part. Don't worry, there will be Amy/Doctor afterwards with them completely sane. Really, they will be together and it won't always be when they are basically inebriated...**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This seems to be coming along faster than I intended, hopefully, I'll be close to a finish by November. I've been enjoying it and positive feedback always helps. Hope people like this chapter, I'm trying to keep the story realistic(ish) and keep things interesting. Humor too, I try to keep the humor in it because humor is important to the show. Reveiws are appreciated. Enjoy the chapter. ^_^**

**EIGHT**

Strands of crimson hair fanned over the dirty work table, tangled in tools, dirt, and fingers. Amelia Pond was achieving her ultimate fantasy. The Doctor was giving her everything she had ever wanted since she was a teenager, all those times she had dreamed…

Her heart wanted to accelerate, but it was slowing down. Her breathing was ragged and the gasps turned to struggles for oxygen as survival instincts sputtered to kick in. Her lips were losing color, but she couldn't stop and she truly believed that she didn't want to.

The Doctor, his mind more active than that of a human, was stuck on a loop. Sanity would slip in and he'd begin to consider letting her go, but it was just as quickly forgotten. His hearts were pounding, his breathing slowing to nearly nothing. In the very back, a small microscopic part of his mind was still aware that the situation had gone from harmful to deadly. It showed him pictures of the corpses above them, bodies giving in to anything and everything until they could do nothing else. The horror of it was enough to shock his senses, but that didn't change a thing. He still had Amy pinned, completely under his control. Which was a dangerous position considering that he wasn't exactly in control of himself.

Then she squirmed or moaned and it sounded so good, felt so good, that he couldn't think of anything else. What did life matter? What did anything matter when he could have the here and now? The future, time, none of it compared to the present.

If only there was someone to save them, someone to bring them back to reality and concentrate on what was really important: getting the out of there. Amy was seconds from complete asphyxiation, the Doctor was seconds away from passing out completely. It wouldn't take long before they were lost forever, their minds too far altered to return. If only there was some person that knew enough to wonder where they were and to somehow put pieces together to know that if the Doctor was gone and so was Amy, then there was sure to be trouble.

"What. The. Hell?"

Rory covered his mouth, repulsed, nauseated and completely infuriated. They had forgotten him again and for what? He stormed forward, grabbed the Doctor by his now unbuttoned and mostly removed shirt and ripped him off his half-naked ex-fiancé. The Doctor collided with the wall, head lolling to the side, eyes shut. Rory held him there, arms trembling in rage and mild revulsion. "What the hell do you think you're doing? We're supposed to be trying to get out of there and you're having private make-out sessions?"

No one responded. Amy's eyes were fluttering open, her heart rate returning to normal and her breathing returning. The Doctor was close to passing out and couldn't even remember who Rory was, let alone answer his questions.

Amy sat up, grabbing her tank top and putting it back over her head, because she didn't want to be in this situation with only a bra on. "Rory." She sighed, hopping off the table. "What're you doing?" She looked at the Doctor, still being held by Rory against the wall.

"Me? You have the nerve…" He shook his head. "I'm not the one who needs to be answering any questions here, Amy. Good lord, what the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't…" She put a hand on her temple, feeling a small ache build in her head. "It wasn't me…I mean, it was me, but it was all weird. Like at a certain point, it stopped being fun and…" She looked up at him. "Let him go, it's not his fault."

Rory's grip tightened. "Not his fault? How many times do I have to say this? Everything is his fault." Amy took his arm and shook the Doctor loose of his grip, letting him slump to the floor. Amy poked him with her shoe.

"It's okay, he's not going to kill you." She breathed in agitation, crossing her arms. Right then, all she wanted was to forget everything that happened.

The Doctor opened an eye and stood up, fixing his shirt as he stood. "You can't promise me that." He eyed Rory and hurried to get himself back in order. The situation was becoming beyond his control. He was scared, afraid that it was already too late, they were too far gone. Thankfully, the jolt of Rory's attack had managed to get his brain back on track, as much as that was possible right then.

"Promise you what?" Amy, removed her hand from her head, looking the Doctor up and down, wondering why on earth he was doing up the buttons on his shirt. She giggled. "Where's the bow tie? Finally deciding to get rid of it?"

The Doctor stopped on the second to last button. "You sort of…" He glanced at Rory. "Actually, I don't know what you did with it…" He looked at the table then the floor before he felt Rory tap on his shoulder. Slightly more repulsed, Rory pointed to a hanging light.

"Ah." The Doctor fixed the fallen stool and stepped on the top rung. "Good eyes Rory, shame if I lost it." He fixed the tie quickly, feeling better now his outfit was nearly completed.

Amy shook her head, pointing up at the light. "How'd it get up there?"

The Doctor chanced another glance at Rory, wondering what Amy was trying to do. Talking about what happened wasn't really appropriate in front of Rory. Even he could tell that much. "Um…Amy…" His eyes flickered back and forth between them. "You…well…I'm guessing you threw it up there, wasn't really paying that much attention…to the bow tie…" He rotated his shoulders, wishing that Rory would stop looking at him like that, it was making him uncomfortable.

She pointed to herself, "Me? Why would I do that? I know how much you love the stupid thing. I'm not that cruel, jeez."

The Doctor put a hand to his head, running fingers through his hair as he shot Amy a look. He took her arm and turned her, hissing conspiratorially with their backs to Rory. "What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing?" Amy raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Glancing over his shoulder, his volume increased. "This isn't funny, Amy."

"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly trying to be funny." She insisted.

The Doctor studied her eyes, but it didn't matter because she couldn't lie to him. She wasn't capable. "You have no idea what I'm talking about?"

"No idea." She turned back to Rory with a shake of her head. "Why's he looking at me like that?"

Lowering his head, the Doctor spoke quietly. "No reason, Amy. Just a joke." He touched her shoulder briefly, moving to leave the room when Rory stopped him.

"What're you looking so sad about?" Rory scoffed.

"Nothing." The Doctor responded. "Not now, Rory."

"Don't _you_ tell me what to do. She's acting weird again and it's obviously upsetting you, so go on, what's wrong with her now? Not that I care, cause I do. But not a lot." Rory shut his mouth and bit his tongue.

The Doctor glanced at Amy, "It's nothing. She doesn't want to remember or she wants to forget, so she did." He shrugged. Rationally, he was telling himself not to read into it and that it probably had nothing to do with him, but the logical side of his brain was failing him more and more that day. It shouldn't make him sad that she wanted to forget, but his smile faded anyway. And he felt a sting of guilt on top of everything. Really, it was not his day.

"Rory, I need you to come with me." He said finally.

"Where?"

"We're going to get the TARDIS." He said finally, "I've had enough of this planet."

"Moon." Rory corrected, making the Doctor glare at him.

Amy stepped forward, not about to be left behind. "Hey, and what about me—?"

"No." The Doctor scolded quickly. He sighed. "I mean, no Amy, you are going to stay here. I have an assignment for you, actually."

"Why can't I come?" She pouted. "Rory gets to go."

The Doctor nodded. "I know, but Rory's safer."

"Safer?" Rory asked, a little shocked by his answer.

"Yes. Safer." He reasoned rationally, then looked Rory up and down with a grimace. "I'm fairly certain you'll be less likely to start kissing me out of nowhere, and no offense, but I have no desire to kiss you, so…problem solved. Amy's hormones are too…out of control."

"Yeah, but…" Rory shrugged. "I can be dangerous too…I mean, I know I've been…it's understandable, but I've been sort of harsh, maybe a bit of a jackass…a bit…violent. Not that you haven't been, but I'm just sayin', I could be just as much a hindrance."

"Yes, Rory, details." He tapped Rory's forehead with his finger. "If you're going to argue then listen. You will not be distracted by every move that I make, I have no wish to fight you so I can easily work to avoid any sort of hostility, you want to go home more than Amy and that, I believe, will make you want to find the TARDIS before fighting with me. Am I understood?"

Rory nodded.

The Doctor rubbed his hands together. "Right, now that that is sorted. Amy, you are going to stay here."

"You said that already." She moped, slumping onto a stool.

"Yes, but it needed repeating. Under no circumstances are you to follow me, do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah." She droned, resting her cheek on her hand and looking bored.

The Doctor bounced on his feet, making a fist. "No, I need you to really understand me. If you ever listen to me, ever, now is probably the time. You cannot be around me right now, alright? You must stay here." He pointed at the floor.

Amy nodded, rolling her eyes. "Fine, already. What'd you want me to do?"

"Right," He reached for the notebook and looked up and down the shelves, grabbing containers. "I am going to make something…" His fingers flew in the air as he checked labels and shoved more containers under his arm. Finally, he rushed forward and dumped the contents on the table.

"What's all this?"

"A pile of rather dangerous chemicals, why?" He didn't look at her, but started unscrewing caps and dumping them into a larger empty container. A pinch of this, and a sprinkle of that, he mixed them together and then cringed backward as he carefully let a drop of something blue fall into the mixture and a puff of smoke erupted from the container. Satisfied, he poured the new mixture into a bottle and inserted the stopper. "Handy this being a supply closet." He said, a familiar smile spreading to his eyes.

Amy felt reassured by his excitement, knowing that he would always find a way. "So what's that then?"

"Hopefully, really hopefully, this will counter all the ill effects those flowers are generating." His smile grew wider. "The gas is fed through the vines, there's a source somewhere, but we don't have time to look. I'll need you to find a batch of flowers and pour this into it, and it should alleviate all symptoms until we're safe on the TARDIS. That or kill us in about ten seconds, but I do believe it will be the former." He rubbed his hands together. "So, Amy, can I trust you to do this?"

She snatched the bottle and stared at it, then lifted her eyes to his. "Sure, no problem."

He clapped. "Excellent. Now, I'll be telling our new friends of this plan, and I'll see that someone assists you to keep you on track. Probably Andromeda, you know, I really like her. Smart and resourceful. Reminds me of you when you were little." He added, looking into the distance, remembering how he had first met Amy Pond.

"Creepy." Rory noted. "You're like, a hundred."

The Doctor frowned. "More like nine…hundred…details Rory. Let's get going." He nodded at Amy, reluctant to leave her, no matter what the circumstances. "Good luck. See you soon, then."

"You too." She gave him a winning smile and spun on a heel with purpose to carry out her mission.

"You love her, don't you?" Rory asked, watching the Doctor as Amy left.

The Doctor looked at his shoes. "It's a bit more complicated than that, Rory. And I've told you, I don't wish to get into any of it with you, with anyone."

"Yeah, but, after what I saw—"

"Rory, do you enjoy making situations even more uncomfortable than they already are? I used to think that I was the only one with a special talent for it, but you, my friend, are giving me a run for my money and that…" He shook his finger in the air. "That is not a compliment." He spoke quickly, stopping at the main computer and printing out directions.

Rory looked at the obscure lines and numbers curiously, "Thought you said we couldn't go after the TARDIS cause it's too far away?"

"Did I?" The Doctor took the print out and examined it for a second before folding it and putting it in his jacket pocket. "Well, now I've decided it's not."

"What'd it move or something?"

"How would it move, Rory? There's no pilot." He tapped the side of his nose with a finger knowingly. "Obviously, the seriousness of the situation now outweighs the risk of the distance. Really, at least make an attempt to keep up."

Rory followed the Doctor, back down corridors toward large rectangle on the map. He leaned backward, whispering to Rory, "Now, there're more flowers out here than inside, so, try not to breathe so much."

"Right, sounds easy enough…until the running starts."

The Doctor frowned. "What do you mean? What makes you think we'll be running?"

"Because we always end up running. It's sort of expected."

The Doctor nodded. "Fair enough."

* * *

><p>Amy wandered around, nearly forgetting what she had been instructed to do until she noticed the bottle in her hand. She was just about to find Andromeda, she was pretty sure that was the name he had mentioned, and get working, but she met Terrin first. The quarrelsome leader was just as abrasive as ever toward her, she frowned.<p>

"Where you're friends run off to?" Terrin looked around her, as if he hoped to see them. "The weird one said Andromeda needed to help you with something and then he just left."

"They went to go find our ship." She answered.

"They?" Terrin ran his hands down his face. "Together? The two guys with you?"

"Yeah, why? Got something to say about that? I'll bet you do." Amy crossed her arms, acting childish, but not really meaning to.

"Yeah, I got something to say about it, idiot. They're the ones been ogling you, ain't they?" He stood to his full height, voice low and authoritative. "They're going to kill each other."

"No." Amy shook her head. "No. Not the Doctor. Not Rory. I don't care what kinds of things are messing with their heads, there's no way they'll want to fight each other. Rory'd never want to actually hurt him."

Terrin laughed darkly. "You're so thick, don't you notice anything? The adults don't just do and say whatever they want. It also takes small little things, like the fact that you'd been thinking of nothing but jumping that Doctor guy, and make that all you think about." He sighed. "Andi does this better…heightens the stuff you don't want to do, the darker stuff. If that jealous guy is even slightly angry with him for stealin' you then they'll be going at it, no doubt about that. He'll not be able to help himself."

Amy spoke sternly, wanting to be sure of what he was saying. "So there's a good chance Rory will actually try attacking the Doctor?"

"More'n a chance." Terrin sighed again, feeling so much older than thirteen. "Probably already wringing his neck."

"Then we'll have to go after them." Amy started walking, wanting nothing more than to keep her boys safe, even if from each other.

Terrin grabbed her arm. "Said you ain't supposed to leave, and I have to agree with that. You're worse than either of them on account of you're a girl."

"Oy. Watch it you little parasite, I'm not averse to hitting mouthy children." She warned.

He waved her threat off, unafraid. "Yeah, sure sure. Not important now. You get Andi and do what he told you to do. I'll take a few of the guys and go get your friends." He shook his head. "Been here not even a day and you're all causing more trouble than we've seen in years."

"They better come back in one piece." Amy ordered, not even letting herself think of what would happen otherwise.

"They'll come back however I find 'em." Terrin replied. "That's all I can really tell you."

Amy watched him leave, her jaw set fiercely. She had a job to see to, she had promised, but after that she'd be damned if she was just going to sit and wait. If the Doctor's plan worked then she wouldn't be dangerous anymore, none of them would. It was going to be okay, she assured herself. Because the Doctor was always, usually, right.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay, so I have been neglecting to update because this chapter was impossible, I still don't like it, but NaNo is tonight so I either upload now or not at all. I feel like the climax part is a bit weak, and so you know, there will be one more chapter of action and explanation and then Doctor Amy wrap up (Like a good whole chapter of just them and figuring things out). I didn't even edit when I uploaded because I knew I would just end up changing it all over again. And blah, hope this isn't too disappointing.**

**On another note, NaNo is starting tonight so I won't be updating very often, although I still plan to finish this by December.**

**Also, if anyone reading this is interested in a good one-shot featuring the Doctor and Amy, check out ChocolateStar 's fanfiction "Trivial Topics." It's a perfect fluff peice if you're just looking for in-characterness and Doctor/Amy goodness. **

**Thank you again to the people who review and who follow this, if it wasn't for you, I probably would have abandoned this long ago. ^_^ Please enjoy this chapter. **

**NINE**

The expanse of underground corridors and tunnels were much easier to navigate now that they knew where the doors were located, hidden panels, and generally, where they were going. The Doctor held up the map frequently, glancing at the print and then up and down, backward and forward before pressing onward. He only got turned around once when he realized he had been looking at it upside down. Rory had been quick to jump on the mistake, and he had only recently begun to talk about something else. Although, the topic wasn't any less annoying.

"Just tell me. You owe me that much. I have to know." Rory insisted, ignoring the Doctor's fallen shoulders and audible sigh. The need was too great, he had to hear him say the words, whether it was what he wanted to hear or not.

"Rory. Please. Isn't there anything else you could be obsessing about? My, isn't it hot? Or, well, this hallway sure is dark. Or possibly, golly, look at all these dead people, maybe I should shut up if I don't want us to end up like them."

They had to leave the tunnels and were now making their way through the upper levels of the base. Some of the doors were blocked and they were rerouted several times. So far, there had been no unwanted attention, just them and the occasional bloody corpse or peacefully decomposing skeleton.

Rory's mouth closed, but he didn't want to let it go. So, he didn't stay quiet for long. "Just a yes or a no…"

The Doctor stopped walking, whirled around, and looked Rory straight in the eye. "I told you. It is complicated. Do you want to get into this now? Really, right now? Fine. The answer is…" He paced back and then stepped up to Rory again, arms stretched and then falling to his side. "I dunno. Honestly. I do not know, because I don't work like that. It's not a simple…" He put out his palm, looking at it. "The idea is just…you can't put it into 'do I love her or not.' That's such a…well, it's never just that, is it?" He looked at his outstretched palm again, then closed his hand quickly. "I care…about Amy. I'm terrified that she'll leave. When she realizes that she can't do this forever and then she'll go home and there I am. Alone. The Doctor traveling alone, because when it comes down to it, that just how it is. Where love enters into it doesn't matter. Humans always change their minds and they always break my heart." The Doctor's heavy breathing filled the otherwise awkward silence that followed. He put his hands on his forehead and let them fall over his face, defeated.

Rory shook his head. "No."

"What?" The Doctor looked at him, drained and just done. He was done.

"I don't buy any of that, because you bring this on yourself." Rory wasn't about to feel sorry for anyone. Not that day. Not anyone other than himself. "You find us, don't you? You're the one grabbing us out of our perfectly happy lives. Did Amy ask you to take her with you?"

The Doctor looked at the wall beyond Rory's face, lips set stubbornly.

"No. You offered, didn't you? It's easy for you to play the victim isn't it? Easy for you to pretend your life is so sad and tragic. We all have problems. Yours aren't any different. So don't you dare, don't you dare try and make me feel sorry for you cause I won't."

"You…" The Doctor laughed darkly. Rory was grating on his final nerve. He was ready to snap and he hated that, but there was nothing he could do. "_You_ will not talk to me about problems, Rory Williams." He shouted. He was yelling and he didn't care. He didn't care that Rory flinched. He did, in fact, care about very little right then. "Do not try and put yourself in my league. Ten minutes in my shoes and you'd be begging for simple _problems_. Nine hundred years. How old are you? Mid-twenties? Oh, you've really lived let me tell you."

"You stole my fiancé from me the night before our wedding." Rory snapped, albeit, feebly.

"You lost your fiancé? Well I-lost-everyone. My entire planet, my entire _race_. Have you committed multiple counts of genocide? Wait, a minute, but you'd understand loss. I mean, your fiancé doesn't _love_ you anymore."

Rory stepped forward, finger in the Doctor's face. "Don't you dare mock me for that, you egotistical jackass."

The Doctor smacked Rory's hand away.

Rory pushed his shoulder.

The Doctor teetered on his feet, a thin smile darkening his features. This was what he had been afraid of. The reason he wanted to get out of there. The reason he _had_ to get out of there. Because he had many different sides, different desires and pieces of himself that he had developed over nine hundred years. He didn't want anyone to see what he had to stop himself from doing.

The Doctor's hand landed on Rory's shoulder, squeezing. "See, you don't want to do this." He said quietly. Anger was burning in his head, clouding it even more powerfully than lust had before. Humans didn't understand. They assumed. They acted like they were the only things in the universe that mattered. It was too hard for them to recognize that _they_ were the aliens. He did _not_ look human. They looked time lord.

With his last remaining reserves of will, the Doctor fought not to dislocate Rory's shoulder. Rory felt the growing pressure, but he was tired too. Tired of his arrogance. Tired of always being second, even when the Doctor was just an imaginary friend he used to dress up as to appease Amy.

Rory seethed. "Oh, I am so done taking orders from you." Then he made a fist and swung.

* * *

><p>Amy half ran toward the main hallways, Terrin and Andromeda following close behind her. She was able to focus because she knew that she wanted to do as the Doctor asked and that she wanted to do it as fast as she could. Terrin had to grab her arm to stop her from making a wrong turn.<p>

"This way. Flowers only grow outside and in the main tunnel system." He instructed, pulling her in the right direction. Once they passed through the small panel that led to the tunnel, Amy ran over to the vines twisting on the wall and looked them over for a second.

"Okay. How do I do this exactly?" She asked, not really seeing a tube or 'insert here' sign. Andromeda stepped forward, twisting one of the flowers gently until it was removed.

"Do it quickly, gas is pouring out of there." She ordered, covering her face with her sleeve. Such a concentrated dose wouldn't be good for any of them.

Amy's head started spinning, but she pulled her shirt up over her mouth and nose and fumbled for the mixture the Doctor had given her before she could forget what she was doing. Unstoppering the bottle, she poured it completely into the stem and then screwed the flower back in place. She took a step backward.

"How long till it works?" Terrin asked when no one else said anything.

"No idea. It didn't exactly come with instructions did it?" Amy snapped. "I was told to pour it so I poured it." She bit on her thumb quickly, hoping that the effect would have been instant, but realizing she'd probably not notice if it was. "Doesn't matter. We've got to find the Doctor and Rory. Which way?"

Terrin showed them to the main buildings. They followed the map he had printed of the TARDIS's location, running into several closed doors on the way. Andromeda held Amy's hand as they walked, unable to look at the bodies without gagging or wiping silent tears. Amy rubbed the small girl's shoulder comfortingly, drawing strength from the girl's weakness.

"We're nearly to the TARDIS, do you think we missed them?" Amy asked.

Terrin looked at the map and shook his head. "Nah. This is the way they would go. Unless they're complete idiots, this is the most direct route aside from using the doors that were blocked."

A crash sounded from a distant room. They could just hear it through the wall. Amy pulled Andromeda behind her, assuming it was the Fedoom. Terrin walked toward the sound, cautiously, peering around the corner before speeding into the foyer on the other side of the wall.

Amy chased after him, the voices rising to her ears before she turned the corner. Her mouth fell open and she couldn't find words for several seconds.

Rory crawled along the floor, sneakers slipping on the surface as he scrambled to retreat. Pieces of the wall were missing and chairs had been thrown against the plaster, sinking partly into it before stopping. They hung bent and warped half out of the wall. Tables were cracked in half and Rory's lip and nose were dripping crimson.

Amy ran to stop the Doctor's advance, something Terrin was already trying to do. She threw herself between him and Rory, arms spread to protect him from the dead look in the Doctor's eyes. The Doctor looked like he didn't care about anything, and for the first time, she was truly terrified.

"Doctor, you don't want to do this." Amy warned, but then his eyes fell on her and she felt her voice fail her. Her knees weakened, but she knew that he would never hurt her…all the drugs or chemicals in the universe would not change that. She straightened her shoulders. "I'm telling you, stop this right now."

He let out a laugh, loud and piercing, head falling back as he clapped his hands together once. "You tell me?" The laughter died as abruptly as his eyes landed on her again. "You do not tell me, Amelia, I tell you. For once you are going to understand that without arguing."

She took a threatening step forward, angry now. "I'm going to forgive that because you're not thinking straight—"

"Amy." He yelled, right in her face. Angrily. "Shut up. For the love…do you ever stop talking? All of you." He pointed in a wide circle. "All of you never stop talking. Always getting yourself in it. Deep deep and I mean, deep in it. Mess. That's all any of you are good for. Well I am tired of cleaning up your messes." He shook his head, laughing. "What am I doing here? Is this my problem? Rory, can you tell me if this is my problem? Your survival. The state of this place. I've enough of death and-and-and destruction. Just chaos everywhere. It's insanity. All of it. Why do I even bother? You never get any better." He ranted. Ranted and continued to spin about the room, screaming and kicking things and tipping over planters. Ruining everything he saw.

Amy stepped forward. She was scared, yes, but he was her Doctor and he needed her. She wanted to run, but she stood her ground. "Doctor you don't mean that. Any of it."

He stopped his assault of the room, looking at her with a tilt of his head. "Actually, I think I do. Isn't that the point?"

"No. This is not you. They said," she motioned to Andromeda. "There's a certain point where it heightens darker thoughts and actions. You're angry, and it's feeding off that. You don't mean what you're saying. Trust me." She held out a hand steadily.

"But it's true. Everything." He set his jaw, talking through his teeth. "And you're not any different."

"Um, excuse me?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You." He motioned with a hand dramatically. "In the end you're not different. None of you are."

"Oh? Why don't you spit it out then? What're you really trying to say?" She crossed her arms.

"I don't know why I bother. You like life now, but just wait. It'll come. Leadworth won't seem like such a drag anymore."

Amy blinked. If she didn't know him so well, she'd have never figured out what he was trying to say. "Are you saying you're freaking out because you think I'll leave?"

"I am saying no such thing." He straightened, but his temper was slowly ebbing. "I'm just saying it'll happen."

She smiled. For a second, it seemed like she had won. She'd gotten through to him. Then Rory stood up. "So you're going to fall for it. He feeds you a line…makes you feel like you're something special and you're just going to pretend like he wasn't just acting like a complete manic?"

She closed her eyes. "Shut it, Rory, you're not helping."

"Yes, Rory, shut up." The Doctor added.

"Really?" Rory argued, but he could feel the fight leaving him.

The Doctor looked at him, but Amy was done with fighting. She stepped in front of the Doctor, arms crossed and tone condescending. "Okay boys, you've had your little spat and now it's time to play nice. Got it?" Both men looked away from her. "Want to kill each other and save the Fe-whats-its the trouble? Cause that's what you're doing. The pair of you." She scolded.

The Doctor looked at Rory, then Amy's face as she challenged him, as she always did. Amy. He didn't remember why he had been so angry, but he was starting to feel rather foolish for it. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

Rory put a hand on his forehead and closed his eyes. "Oh, my head is killing me. Why do I suddenly feel like I just want to sleep and never wake up?"

Amy smiled. "But you're not sleeping?"

"No, obviously." He countered moodily.

Amy looked at the Doctor triumphantly, and he managed to return the gesture lightly. "He's not sleeping." She said happily.

"Okay, why's it so important that I'm not sleeping?" Rory snapped, but it was half hearted. His head was pounding and it took him a second to remember that he had been thrown about the room and nearly punched into unconsciousness.

"It means, that Amy did as I asked. You want to sleep, but you're not. Everything's…peachy." He put his fingertips together, looking at them solemnly.

"Oh, don't look so mopey." Amy goaded, nudging the Doctor with her shoulder. "I'm not mad or anything. I know you weren't you when you said those things."

The Doctor smiled weakly.

Rory held his nose, which still throbbed slightly. "Yeah, I sort of started it anyway. Guess I forgive you punching me in the face, too."

"Yeah." The Doctor said quietly, his head finally clear enough for him to really think.

"Oh hell." Terrin cut through the silence and Andromeda had latched onto Amy's hand. "Great. Your little mood swings've attracted too much attention. They're surrounding the doorways."

"What those limp creatures from before?" Amy asked, not really knowing why they needed to be afraid now that they had their minds back.

"Remember what I said about them?" The Doctor asked, rubbing his fingers together.

"Yeah, so?" Amy snorted. "What're they gonna do? Think us to death? The TARDIS is just over there. We can push through them easy."

The lights began to flicker. The Doctor looked up and then lifted the sonic. Flipping it open then closed and pocketing the device.

"Okay. So it's a little dark. They can turn the lights off. Big deal, right?" Amy whirled around when she didn't feel his hand right next to her. "Doctor?"

He went to the wall and pressed his ear to it. Leaning back he tapped it with his knuckle.

"Doctor." Amy hissed as the light vanished completely. "What're you doing?"

"I think it's time we got back to the TARDIS." He ordered.

"Yeah, that's been the plan from the beginning." Rory commented.

"Yes, but now there's a time limit."

"What?" Four voices said together.

The Doctor smiled faintly, but no one could see his face in the dark. "These walls were made to seal themselves from the outside, each room designed to be a sort of bunker or a containment room depending on the need. Safety precaution. Anything they don't like they seal off sections or just single rooms to contain problems—"

"Get to the point." Amy snapped, her hand still searching for his.

The Doctor took Amy's hand, trying to reassure her. "The point is…I think we are the problem."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Okay. So, NaNo is over. And I have forced myself to keep working on this when normally I would have scraped it. So, this is not as good as it should be. The story kind of kills off because this is sort of mainly a romance fic and the next chapter will probably be the end. For all the people who still follow this, thank you. Really. ^_^ Enjoy reading and comments are always appreciated. **

**TEN**

"Great. Great. That's just…well, actually, that's not really a surprise. Pretty much standard operation with you." Rory's hands were on his waist and he sighed. "Get out of one problem, find ourselves in another. Bad to worse to horribly not good to oh my god, why does this keeping happening to us?"

Doctor smiled, rocking back and forth on his feet. "Yeah, but never boring, eh?" He flicked a few settings on the screwdriver and the lights flickered back on. "Least the lights're working again. There's something."

Rory shook his head.

"Alright. So, what do we do? We try and get out? Break the walls down? What?" Amy asked, her limps twisting and her feet pacing with the need to be doing something, achieving something as opposed to just waiting.

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't think we'll have that much time."

"What'd you mean?"

"Well, I'll have to guess, guess mind you, only guessing, they'll probably want to talk to us first. If I'm right, there isn't much time before _they_ come to _us_. Probably just wanted to make sure we're all safe and secure. Show us who's in charge, or who they _think's_ in charge."

Amy swallowed. "O-kay. And what makes you think that?"

"They're intelligent. And one thing I know comes with any sort of intelligence…" He pointed to his forehead. "It's curiosity." He smiled, removing his hand from his head and putting the other in his pocket. "I'm willing to bet they've noticed the TARDIS and I'm also willing to bet they've never had this much activity all at once. Weird blue box lands in the middle of a supposedly uninhabited bunker and now they're getting all sorts of problems. I know I'd want to know what exactly was causing such a ruckus. Wouldn't you?"

Amy nodded. "Alright, fair enough. But what do we do once they get here? They going to probe us or somethin'?" She put her finger in his face to show she was serious. "'Cause, I am not going to be poked with some creepy alien probe-y-thing."

The Doctor shook his head. "I doubt there will be any probing. We'll simply talk to them, find out their side and see what happens. 'Play it by ear' as they say. Oh. Love that. Not having a plan."

"You never have a plan." Amy countered.

"Yeah, but this time, that's the plan. I've planned to not have a plan." He smiled, clearly more amused than anyone else.

"Great. So reassuring." Amy mumbled.

"You'll what now?" Terrin asked, drawing the attention from the adults that had almost forgotten he was there. "You ain't talking with anything. Those things come in here and I'm striking first." The boy stood his ground, chin high in the air. His little fists shook. "I'm taking them before they take us, that's how this works. They're the enemy."

The exit hissed slowly open and every head swiveled toward the door. A few of the creatures blocking the pathway out.

Terrin ducked down instantly, scooping up a table leg he had spotted earlier. The Doctor pulled on the back of Terrin's jacket as the boy swung the weapon fiercely. He thrashed and sputtered, trying to reach his enemy. Anger burned in the boy's eyes. Too much pain and anger for such young eyes.

"Oy, you, let's calm it down, don't want to start a fight now. Had enough fighting for today, thank you." The Doctor pulled him back, sliding the boy behind him as he looked the three creatures up and down with a smile. "As for you lot," He situated himself between the Fedoom and his friends, letting them know that he would be the one doing the talking. The corner of his mouth lifted into a half smile and he adjusted his bow tie. "Let's hear your side of things. The Doctor will hear your plea."

The creatures looked at them, heads tilting and limbs twitching. Finally, a voice sounded as if from a speaker. "We do not wish war."

The Doctor chuckled. "That's good news, cause there wasn't gonna be one. Not on my watch at any rate." His eyes narrowed at the creatures, "What's that then? Some sort of voice simulator? Ah, can't speak can you?"

"That computer-y sounding voice is just a sort of transmitter then?" Amy tried to clarify.

"Sort of. There are a few species of highly developed races that don't need to communicate audibly. They're probably telepathic, but they'll assume any humanoid life form is incapable of communicating similarly. The simulator reads their thoughts and translates it into sound."

"Ours."

The Doctor's attention was shifted back to the aliens in the doorway. "Yours. What's yours? What've you been poisoning all these humans for? And keep in mind," He raised a finger. "I am being _extremely_ nice about this whole thing. See as much senseless death as I've just seen in this place, usually puts me off. Well, still does, but you've caught me in a mood. Not a good mood. _A_ mood. I'd name it but I'd need a thesaurus to really get the right- Does anyone happen to carry one?" He turned to look at Amy and Rory,who shook their heads. "You know, the little ones you keep in your pockets?"

"Doctor, they're just called pocket thesauruses cause they're small, they don't actually fit in pockets." Amy corrected.

"Maybe not yours." He sighed, disappointed. "Oh, fine then. Whatever. Didn't really care all that much anyway. So." He got his rhythm back from the temporary side track. "So back to my point. Let's hear your explanation, cause it had better be a good one. Why attack the humans? Why poison them?"

"Ours home first. Humans came once ago. Many centuries. We were peace. But humans killed many. We did not wish war." The creatures spoke in broken English, like they had worked to translate, but got the pieces wrong. Or the simulator wasn't doing a good job. It was probably trying to do the translations on its own and their speech wasn't easily translated by the device.

The Doctor frowned. "So humans come in, you try and coexist, but they kill numerous members of your species, then centuries later they come back and you decide to strike first?"

"This is affirmative."

"Yeah, know how that can be." He nodded, looking past them as he recalled a similar experience. "Except, in place of the invasion it was more of a series of bad dinner party and instead of killing we just had to eat loads of pickled octopus liver, which, believe you me, if you try it...it's basically the same thing, and when I say we 'struck first' I mean we ate beforehand. Only so many times you can eat that stuff without losing your lunch in the process." His hands were in his pockets as he bounced on his feet, smiling at the memory. Finally, he turned to face the humans behind him. "Okay. Here is how this is going to go—"

"You ain't in charge here. You can't listen to them. They killed all of us, everyone here. Look at all the bodies?" Terrin was nearly shouting, his voice cracking slightly.

"I've already said, there isn't going to be any violence. As far as they are concerned you're the hostile invaders. They were just protecting themselves so—"

"You're just going to let this go—"

"SO." The Doctor interrupted loudly. "We are going to give them back their planet." 

"Moon."

"Aha." He pointed, smiling and then clicking his fingers once. "Yes, thank you, Rory." He put his hands together, feeling better now that things seemed nearly back to normal. At least for now he could pretend that was the case. "We've got the TARDIS now, you and the other children are going to come with me and I'm taking you home."

"What home? We've only know this." Terrin seethed. He flinched when Andromeda put her hand on his shoulder.

"We don't belong here. This is their home, like the Doctor says. Do you _want_ to stay here?" Andromeda soothed, even as he declined her affection, she still pursued him like he was her stubborn brother.

"'Course I don't."

"Then we should go."

"Not if he just lets all them get away with killing all our families." Terrin wiped a tear from his eye quickly. No one was going to see him cry. Especially not a girl.

"Killing them won't bring your parents back." The Doctor said quietly. "You're young. Don't make the mistake of thinking revenge is more important than your life."

"You can do both. I can get revenge and then you take me and the others with you." Terrin shouted again, his fists shaking.

"I could yes, but I won't. I don't have to. You're not going to hurt anyone because despite you feeling angry," He leaned down to Terrin's level. "Deep down, you know I'm right."

"You're just as bad as them." Terrin hissed dangerously.

"Hey now, that's a bit harsh." The Doctor looked at the Fedoom and adjusted his bow tie. "I'm much better looking."

Rory stepped forward, looking at the boy as he wiped his eyes again. "Hey. I, uh, I know it's not my place or anything, but take it from someone who knows. Hurting them won't make you feel better. You're already sad and angry, don't add guilt to the list."

Terrin sniffed, glaring at Rory. "Fine. Whatever. I'm not staying here, that's for damn sure so I'll just go with you." He glared at the creatures watching the exchange and sprinted off toward the TARDIS. The Doctor nodded a silent thanks to Rory before turning back to the creatures.

"Here's the deal then. They get the moon back, it's their home, they get to keep it. We get all the survivors back to Galadros and Andromeda?"

"Yeah?" She stepped forward, looking eager.

"Tell the other children, I need all of you to tell people what happened here. That this place belongs to the fedoom and humans can search for their minerals somewhere else. Maybe one day, in the future, they can contact the fedoom before settling here and talk things out peacefully, find a solution that can help everyone." He looked at her severely, knowing that just because she was a child didn't mean she didn't understand the seriousness of the situation. Actually, in his experience, children could be more trusted than most adults.

Andromeda nodded. "It might take some convincing…people are greedy that way." She went to follow Terrin and retrieve the other children. She had no idea what would happen to them once they were brought to their home planet, but she knew that she trusted the Doctor and that was enough for her right then.

The Doctor turned his attention back to Amy and Rory. He looked at them awkwardly, his eyes flitting from one face to the floor to something or other. It was usually best to just ignore awkward situations and pretend they never happened, he thought, his eyes lingered a half second longer on Amy.

Finally, he took his hands from his pockets and rubbed them together. "So. We stop off on Galadros, not a long trip from here considering we are on one of its moons and then, what do you say?" He stalked off mid sentence, flinging open the doors to the TARDIS before continuing inside. "Feudal Japan? Age of the samurai? Or maybe back a bit further? Pay a quick visit to Socrates? Oh, Socry. Great philosopher. _Excellent_ Chess player, when I showed him what chess was…but let me tell you…what-a-troublemaker. Honestly. Can't put a foot through an arch without a bucket of well water falling over your head. Ten minutes with him and I came this close," He put his fingers together. "To wishing I had some shaving cream and a feather for later that night. Try and inscribe dirty poetry into the side of _my_ TARDIS will you. Ha. I don't think so." He began pulling levers and twisting buttons. Hitting some of the controls more fiercely than he wanted.

Amy had her arms crossed, looking at the floor while he talked, knowing exactly what he was trying to do. Rory wasn't clueless either, but he wasn't as comfortable being in the same room with him at the moment. Head still down over the consol, the Doctor watched Rory head to his room in his peripherals. His hands were braced on the controls and he decided that if he was going to be left alone in the control room with one of them, he would have preferred Rory. He would have preferred Socrates at that point. At least he hadn't done anything drastically horrible to destroy Socrates' life. The temporary blue hair dye didn't count, Socrates just assumed it was the gods getting back at him for attempting to inscribe his name into the side of a temple so that everyone would know he was there. And he deserved it.

Leaning against the railing, Amy sighed and inspected her nails. Running was the strongest impulse at this point. Running very far and very fast in any other direction. The Doctor and Amy both considered bolting in opposite directions, looking over their shoulder's longingly. However, Andromeda chose that moment to show up outside the ship. Noticing her on the monitor, the Doctor sprinted to the door, threw it open, and ushered everyone inside, muttering the typical, "Yes, it's bigger on the inside."

Keeping the wide, there is nothing wrong, smile on his face, he powered up the TARDIS to bring the children back to their home planet. Andromeda, knowing that the TARDIS was bound to have some way of communicating with the planet, brought the coordinates and the contact information so they could arrange for family members still on the planet to meet with them. They were able to communicate with the group directly on the planet that was supposed to be home base for the settlement. When they found out about the situation, they were apparently completely shocked. They had been getting regular messages from the moon, now known to be from the fedoom to keep more humans from showing up.

Once the children were settled and in safe hands for the first time in years, there was nothing to keep them on the planet. The Doctor went back to the controls, already setting the destination for Leadworth.

Amy ran her finger along the consol, walking around it until she was on the same side as the Doctor. "So." She began. "We still going to ancient Greece or whatever?"

"If you want…" He responded quietly. "I was actually…" He flicked at a switch. No more boyfriends. Seriously. That was it. One person at a time, or things just got complicated. He did not want to continue this conversation, but he could hardly hope things could go back to some semblance of normal between him and Amy and that Rory would just grow old and live his life in that room. "Rory." He said simply.

She closed her eyes. "Yeah. I know. Alright? I feel…" She sighed and put her fingers against the sides of her nose, bending her head down. "I feel terrible. Worst than I ever have…" She looked at him warily. "You're taking us home aren't you?"

"Us?"

"Well…him…"

"Oh."

"I mean, I thought…"

"What?"

"I don't…that this might not…work anymore-I don't know." Amy groaned. "Gah!"

The Doctor studied her, unsure of what exactly was happening, but feeling better now that he knew she was staying. The situation might still be uncomfortable, given what had happened, but he decided that running didn't really seem as appealing without Amy trying to catch up.

"So…Rory?" He asked again, pretty sure that there hadn't been any actual talk on that front.

Amy looked at him, her nails tapping the consol. "I'll talk to him. I think…whatever he wants, that's what we'll do. If that's okay?"

"Sure. Yeah. Fine. Whatever…Rory wants. Of course." He pulled on the monitor, just for something to do and looked at the floor sadly.

Amy nodded, putting her hand on his wrist and squeezing gently before heading up the stairs to talk to Rory. She knew that it was his decision if he wanted to leave or stay. That was what she had meant. It wasn't fair to kick him out because of her, but she already knew what he would want. Still, he deserved a real, clean headed explanation and apology and so much more than she was capable of giving him. Teetering back and forth on her feet, she put her hand on the door and gave herself a small pep-talk before opening it. She smiled at Rory, sitting on the bed and turning to look at her when he noticed her enter. She tucked some hair behind her ear, deciding to go first.

"Hey."


	11. Chapter 11

**ELEVEN**

Rory nodded, not looking at her. "Hey." He responded flatly. He had a feeling he knew what was coming. He was also pretty sure he didn't really want to hear it.

Amy smiled, clapping her fist to her palm. "So." She nodded nervously. "So…"

"Yep. So." He sighed, offering her a way out because he needed one. "Look, I know what you're here for and…just don't worry about it, okay? I'm f-I'm fine. Really. Just…well, I'll be fine. Eventually. You know. So you don't have to be all nervous or worried about me. I'll survive." He picked at the covers, looking at his shoes.

Amy closed her eyes, hands resting in her back pockets. "I know. I know you'll be okay. I know you'll survive…because you're Rory and you're so much stronger than you give yourself credit for." He met her eyes then, still not able to smile. "You don't have to prove to me you're tough. I was…that was really low of me, everything that happened back there…"

He put his hand up. "Yeah, I could do without the reminders, thanks."

"So could I, but we don't really have a choice—"

"Wrong, Amy." He stood up. "You're trying to make yourself feel better, but I don't really want to hear it. I'm not in the mood after everything that's already happened. We may not have been acting normally, but that doesn't mean I don't remember. I'm not…" He half smiled. "I'm not angry with you. Okay?"

Her bottom lip twitched. "But you should be. I may not have been thinking clearly, but that wasn't how any of this should have happened. None of it was right...If it had never happened we might not even be here, having this conversation. We would have probably avoided all this drama and guilt and just all this headache." She paused, wondering if she would have ever even broken up with Rory if it hadn't been for going to that moon. If she would have gotten over her fears and reluctance for the quiet married life. If she hadn't jumped on her impulses at the time, the emotions that always stirred so strongly when she was around her Raggedy Doctor. There were a lot of 'maybes' floating around with recent events, all the talking they had done when they had no control over it. A lot of maybes but no way to go back and change them. Even with a time machine, they couldn't erase the future they had created. There was only dealing with the consequences however they could.

Rory touched her shoulder and withdrew his hand quickly, the gesture feeling so familiar, but now awkward as well. Amy's hand went to meet his and withdrew just as quickly. She kicked at the ground. "I don't want it to be like this."

"Honestly? I don't either." He replied, giving her more of a smile, but one that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I've known you for, like, ever. Whether as my boyfriend or not, you're still my best friend." She smiled.

"Yeah. Although, I think it's probably a good idea if we…I mean, I think I want to go home."

"Oh." She blinked. "Of course, if that's what you want…but…you don't have to, you know? We'd never kick you out, you're one of us. One of my boys." She lightly punched his shoulder, and then frowned when he didn't look amused.

"See, _that's_ what is going to get a bit hard to deal with. I've got things to do back home…try and move on…you, though, you belong here, Amy. All this, space and aliens and everything, that's you. I was only here because you were. It was fun, at times, but I just want to go back to Leadworth. Where things make sense."

"Okay." She said, feeling like things weren't okay yet, but they would be. It was hope, because Rory was not someone she could just erase, and she didn't want things to be awkward between them forever.

They walked back to the main control room together. The Doctor was leaning against the console, his back to the stairs. Amy jumped the last step, her boots echoing on the floor and causing him to turn abruptly. His eyes, wide and unblinking, landed rather unsubtly on Rory. He pulled his hands from his pockets, sending a glance to Amy, and then, once he felt it was safe, smiled warmly.

"Hello Rory." The Doctor said, standing a little too close to Rory.

"Um. Hey." Rory said dryly.

"So. You're looking well." He chirped, beaming.

"Yeah, I just saw you like five minutes ago. Why're you acting like you haven't seen me in years?" Rory sent him a suspicious look.

The Doctor shook his head, looking to Amy, but her head was in her hands. "What? I am not…" He snorted and put his arm around Rory. "This guy. Always with the jokes." He patted Rory's chest with his hand.

"Doctor." Amy scolded evenly. "I think that's enough overcompensating. He says he fine and we're going to take him home now. Kay? How 'bout we remove that hand…" The Doctor slowly took his hand away from Rory, and slipped the other from around his shoulders. "That's it. Now. We all feeling better? Yeah? Okay. Doctor. Let's get moving."

The Doctor looked at them, rubbing his thumb against his other fingers. "Yes. Well, we're already here, actually." He tired to properly gauge the reactions. Rory was looking at the console and Amy was trying very hard to seem content.

"That's my stop then." Rory offered. He walked toward the door, the Doctor and Amy trailing behind him uncertainly. When he turned around, the other two stopped abruptly. Rory shook his head then turned to the Doctor. "I'd say something nice here…but, you know, given the circumstances…"

"Yeah. No worries." He smiled kindly. "Have a good life, Rory Williams. It was truly a pleasure to have known you." The Doctor nodded and then stepped forward for a quick hug.

Rory smiled and then turned to Amy. They both turned a look on the Doctor who spun on his heel and exclaimed that he had something very important to see to upstairs and that it couldn't possibly wait a second longer. Amy laughed.

"So. I guess this is goodbye then." She said, her voice cracking slightly. She sniffed.

"We'll see each other again." He offered, still not able to watch her cry.

"Yeah." She breathed, sucking in air through her teeth. "Yeah, I'm sure we will…I hope we will." Bouncing on her heels she decided she didn't care if he objected and threw her arms around his shoulders, letting a few tears fall onto his shirt. "I'm going to miss you. Don't forget that."

Hesitantly, Rory put his arms around her, allowing a few seconds of just holding her for probably the last time. "I'll miss you too." He added after a minute. As much as he didn't want to, he knew he would.

"Take care of yourself, alright?" She sniffed again, pulling back slowly.

"I will." He bit his tongue. "And you too. Take care of yourself."

"Yeah. Will do." She smiled, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking with him to the door.

With a final wave he turned around and walked out into the brisk air. It was early evening and the wind was sharp against his shirt. He knew where he was, the streets familiar no matter what time of day. He hiked up his shoulders and started walking home, not looking back when he heard the door click shut. The whooshing of the TARDIS fazing rose above the wind and he knew it was gone. They were gone. And he was sad, a little, but also relieved and so many other things all at once. He would miss Amy and even the Doctor, but he was glad to be home. Happy to see the familiar streets without a worry that he'd be shot at or attacked or running for his life. His only immediate plan was to sit and do nothing for at least a week before worrying about the future. Nothing, was going to be a nice change of pace.

When the door closed Amy could hear the Doctor behind her. She knew he'd be wondering what her reaction would be. She wiped her eyes and turned with a smile. He smiled back, unsure if hers was genuine.

"Where to then?" She asked quickly, stalking up to the console. She smiled and pranced because she wanted to be strong enough to do so.

"Amy?" He stood next to her, unsure of what to do with his hands and letting them fidget in front of him. She was being brave, he knew that much when her head kept fighting to stay upright on her shoulders. When she fought to keep her eyes bright and level with his. It was admirable, but unnecessary. And so typical. "Are you okay?"

She laughed, loudly. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" She took a deep breath and looked at him. "Oh, don't look so forlorn. Geez, I'm fine." She pushed his shoulder lightly, to show that she was as fine as she claimed.

"I'm not trying to be…well, untactful here, but you don't…look…it." He took a quiet breath. "If you need a second to be alone…"

"Oh my word, I don't need a second, alright? I told you. I. Am. Fine."

He didn't say anything. Just looked at her sadly, knowing she was lying. So, he waited. She picked at the plastic of the console with her nail stubbornly. She kicked at the ground moodily. She wiped at her nose discreetly. She sniffled intermittently. And finally, she fell sideways, allowed him to catch her, and cried openly into his shirt.

The Doctor waited until she was finished, rubbing her shoulder slowly. His shirt was soaked, but he kindly didn't mention this when she straightened and fixed her hair.

"Thanks." She said finally, giving him a weak smile. "I feel much better."

He returned the smile. "Yeah, well, don't mention it."

She continued to rub at her eyes, laughing. "I must look a mess."

"No…" He shook his head, scratching his temple and shrugging.

"Oh, thanks. But I know I do." She could see make-up on her shirt sleeve and the ends of her hair were matted with tears. She raked her fingers through it quickly, fluffing it out as she straightened her shirt and regained her composure. She used a napkin to clean up the mascara.

When she felt clean again, she noted that the Doctor had moved to the other side of the console. He seemed to want to avoid her, but that wasn't going to happen. Amy almost wanted to laugh if he thought he'd be walking away without another word. Like hell. She stalked around the console where he was pushing buttons to look busy. Tilting her head, she leaned back on her elbows, resting with her back to the console. "You're not going to avoid this forever."

He didn't look at her, spinning and tapping things looking extremely preoccupied. "Says who? I've a time machine. That's what I do. I can avoid something for eternity if I want." He swallowed.

"You see, that is where you're wrong. I'm not letting this go, so you're not running from it." She stated. It was pure fact and he could fight it all he wanted, but she was going to win this argument. No amount of snapping or evasion would change that.

He nodded. "I had a feeling." He wouldn't smile. And the flicker of humor that was always there somewhere, even when he was angry, was completely gone.

Amy sighed. "Just so you know, I sort of just got out of a very serious relationship." She glanced sideways at him, noting that he seemed confused. She shrugged, moving a few steps closer and looking up at him casually. "In other words, I'm not really looking for another serious thing. Just a bit of fun. Maybe a little adventure, you know. Not really looking to settle down just yet."

He smiled curiously. "Okay…"

She chuckled, "I'm letting you off the hook, you big moron."

He took a breath. "Oh. Well, that's good I guess. Yeah. Splendid." It was just as well, because there was very little he could offer in that department. Romantic relationships made things sticky and messy. If they could just go back to friends, even after everything then that was perfect. He could keep Amy as the amazing friend she was and he wouldn't be alone. Deep down he was afraid that she might have mistook everything that had happened on that moon. Women sometimes had a tendency to take small gestures and impulses and turn them into dramatic declarations with deep hidden meanings.

Feeling a small sense of relief, he looked at his companion. Amy Pond. His brilliant ginger Amelia Pond. Her lovely face was smiling happily and her green eyes shining. Unfortunately, it was at that point he noticed the impish shine in her eyes and the smile was really more of a smirk. Something that made him not at all comfortable.

"However…" She added, her eyes lowering coyly. "You're not getting out of this completely..." She put her hand over his and he jumped backward, shaking out his hand nervously.

"Well, I think that's enough talking for right now—"

"I was thinking the same thing." She purred.

The Doctor looked into her eyes, temporarily mesmerized. Frozen for several seconds he allowed her to gain some ground before shaking his head vigorously. "No. No. No. Amy, this is not going to happen. This _can't_ happen." He put out an arm to keep her from advancing, but she hadn't made a move yet, just watched him flutter around the control room with amusement. "I was really hoping to avoid any of…this…" He ranted, whirling around and motioning to her with his hands, a very grand up and down gesture, before spinning and continuing to rant and pace around the room. Finally he stopped and rubbed his face in his hands.

"I don't see why you're flipping out. It's really not that big a deal." She shrugged, leaning against the console coolly.

He laughed. "See, and that's part of the problem. You would say that wouldn't you? You don't know, Amy. You don't know what I know and that…that is…" He held his finger in the air. "I know that anything you're thinking in that zany head of yours…is off limits."

"Oh, and what am I thinking?" She cooed.

He shook his head, eyeing her knowingly. "Don't…don't play dumb."

"No really. Please tell me about these 'oh so forbidden' thoughts in my zany head." She toyed.

He shook out his hands, still a little antsy. "That's not the point, Amelia. The point is that I don't like the way you're looking at me and you need to stop right now."

"So there're rules now?" She huffed.

"There have always been rules. One, don't wander off. Two…through," He counted in his head, "Five aren't important right now. But six is a giant no to the crazy hormonal thoughts flitting through Amy's head."

"It really says 'Amy' in your list of rules?"

"No it states 'insert companion name here,'" He corrected and then he looked at her sternly taking her by the shoulders and sitting her down in one of the seats. He found her eyes, which were still skeptical and a little playful, but he was determined to keep things serious. "I want you to understand how this works. You're not at all in your right mind right now. With or without the noxious plant life." He added before she could protest.

She shook her head. "You didn't seem so unwilling earlier."

He opened his mouth and shut it quickly, stopping and starting a few times before actually saying what he was thinking. "That…that is what I was afraid of. Okay. You need to completely disregard anything that happened down there. That…well I was…none of it was real."

"It was real that when I kissed you didn't stop kissing me back." She raised her eyebrows. "You obviously didn't mind."

"Not minding that it happens and not wanting it to happen are two different things. Of course I didn't mind." He exclaimed. "Look at you. I mean, no I didn't mind, obviously, but that doesn't mean I wanted it to happen. I didn't start that."

"No, but you sure finished." She mumbled. Blinking she put a hand on her head. A sudden surge of memory made her wince and then she was blinking and looking at the floor. "Oh…my God. Oh my God." She put a hand over her mouth.

The Doctor glanced at her, hands in his pockets, looking wary. He was curious if those memories would resurface once the toxins wore off. She couldn't actually make herself forget something through sheer will, and she had only managed to suppress the memory until, well, now.

Amy put a hand on her chest and swallowed. "So…we didn't just…" She bobbed her head as she kept herself from finishing her statement.

The Doctor hung his head. Somehow, it was rather disappointing. This reaction. The appropriate one, but still, it hurt. "Yes. We didn't just…"

"So we almost…"

"Yeah." He nodded solemnly. "That's my point. You regret it now and it's only been," He looked at his wrist. "A few hours. And nothing even really happened. That's what I'm trying to tell you."

"Wait, regret?" She looked confused and then she looked at his puzzled expression and laughed. "Oh…" She giggled. "You think I'm acting like this cause I regret…" She snickered into her hand.

He frowned. "Wasn't that what you were just doing with the shocked exclamations and everything?" He didn't think he had misunderstood.

"Well," She nodded. "I mean, it wasn't my proudest moment. I was a bit slutty actually…but don't get me wrong. It was totally hot." She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

He mouthed the word 'hot' running a hand through his hair. "So, I think we need to establish a few things. Because I am just…well, completely in the dark. You don't regret what…well…didn't about almost sort of could of happened?"

She smiled. "No. Not at all. Do you?"

"No." He replied quickly and then he shook his head. "I mean, yes. Of course I do. Look what it's led me to? This is why I avoid these kinds of situations."

"So you never have any sort of…I dunno…desires? Never get a dirty thought? Ever?" She stepped closer.

He rolled his shoulders, hands still in his pockets and he pointedly tried to avoid her gaze. "Not in the way a human might."

"But you do? In your own alien way?"

He squirmed uncomfortably. "I do not have to take this." He pointed in her face. "I'm not answering these…clearly ludicrous questions."

She sighed. "Why are you being such a baby? What would it hurt?"

"There are so many reasons why it would hurt. Three hearts would get broken here. I'm just trying to keep that from happening." He looked down at her, now that she was standing right in front of him. It took her a second to think of what he meant by 'three hearts.' But she understood and stepped forward, throwing her arms around his neck and resting her cheek on his shoulder.

A little off balance, he didn't shrug her off. Besides, hugs were perfectly legal in his book. He put an arm around her waist and accepted the gesture. When she leaned back she kept her hands on his neck, looking up at him kindly. The mischievous air was mostly gone, although it was still always present somewhere in her eyes. She smiled warmly.

He returned the smile, hoping that this was her conceding and that that was the end of the argument. In hindsight, it was a stupid hope.

Her face was pressed against him before he could say otherwise, her fingers pulling at his collar. His arms moved away from her waist, touching her shoulders to push away from the kiss. Her lips moved quickly, trying desperately to get him to react, which he didn't.

Finally, he managed to push her head back and she growled at the interruption. Amy spoke first.

"Are you dead?"

"What? No…" He replied, thrown off. Her fingers still gripped his collar and she was holding him from retreating.

"Did the universe explode?"

"Well…" He looked over her shoulder like he wanted to go and confirm this before answering the question, but she tugged him back fiercely. "No." He said quickly, noting that she looked actually pissed.

"Is the world going to end?"

"I-no."

"Do you like kissing me?" She raised an eyebrow. Go ahead, say the wrong thing, she dared.

He swallowed, knowing a lie was not really an option. "I don't dislike it…"

"Then is there a reason for you to be acting like you're going to die at any moment?" She reasoned.

"N-no…" He groaned.

"Good. Then there should be no problems. Suck it up." She ordered.

The Doctor looked at Amy. Defeated. He shut his eyes and wasn't surprised when she jumped on the opportunity and was kissing him gently. His hands hovered on her waist, but he didn't try to stop her. And when he continued the motion, she moaned happily. It was more in triumph than anything, he thought annoyed. But it wasn't unpleasant. Nothing about the situation was unpleasant upon reflection.

She wandered backward, backing him into the stairs where he had to catch the railing to keep from toppling over. She giggled against him and he smiled, leaning his forehead against hers.

"So…does this mean I get to see your room?" She bit her lip as she waited for an answer.

"That's taking things a bit fast." He replied. "I suggest, in this situation, that you take what you can get. Considering I was seconds from having to throw you out if only to maintain my dignity."

"Oh fine." She pouted. Then she let her fingers run up and through his hair, smiling confidently when he closed his eyes. "So, still no protests?"

He opened his eyes. "You've won, Amy. And I am not a gracious loser, don't provoke me." He conceded. This was a very dangerous path he was being dragged down. So many different ways this could end horribly wrong. So many different ways that either of them could be hurt beyond repair, although he was more worried about her.

His life did not follow the pattern of grow old and die. He would regenerate when she would be forced to live as a human forever. The positives really didn't compare when he thought of things the way he saw them, all the experience that made him much more knowledgeable than Amy thought she was. Her thigh slid next to his as he was forced to sit on the stairs, Amy's legs on either side of him. Just a little indulgence wouldn't hurt. No one would die from a little harmless kissing. Although, if she continued this much longer he doubted she'd be willing to end there. Still, there really wasn't any harm, was there?

He knew there was. So much harm was in store. That was inevitable. That was his life. He didn't get to enjoy things for long. But there was no way Amy was going to lose to him about this, so there was no sense in beating himself up about it now. He ran his hands up her back, not minding that it made her arch further into his lap.

Amy pulled away, face flush and out of breath. She did have certain things in mind, but she wasn't trying to get it all out at once. She smiled, her hair falling over his face as she tried to push it behind her ears.

"So. I was thinking."

"That's never good." He mumbled.

"I was thinking we should go to Paris." She sat up, lifting her leg over his lap and standing. She straightened her shirt and skirt.

The Doctor looked confused as he grabbed the railing and stood. "Okay."

She pushed her hair over her shoulder and turned on him brightly, hands on her hips. "When?"

"Whenever you like." He began to smile.

"Well, I was thinking past…past like…late 15th century?" She bounced over to the console, leaning on it as she waited for him to navigate.

He jumped from the stairs and scooted over to the console. "French renaissance?"

"Sure." She agreed as he began to flutter around the controls with enthusiasm.

He set the coordinates and then looked at his companion. "France 1499?"

"Sounds good to me." She laughed, stalking along the console and smiling playfully.

"So then, this is how it's going to be now?" He had a hand on the lever that would take them to their destination.

"Is that a problem?" She purred.

He laughed. "Oh, Amy." He found the situation rather funny now. "Beautiful brilliant," He held a finger to her face. "Completely impossible, Amy." His hand settled on the lever for takeoff. "Not at the moment." He answered and he lowered his hand, sending the TARDIS shaking as it fazed in 15th century France. Amy grabbed the console to keep from falling and he held onto the monitor, both of them laughing. "So what the hell? Why not?" He yelled above the noise of the brakes he never took off.

"Exactly." Amy agreed with a giggle as the ship landed.

He jumped the small flight of stairs in front of the door and leaned against the doorway with one hand. "Ready?"

"Am I ever not?" She laughed and then she extended a hand.

He took it and let the door swing open, "Welcome to 15th century Paris, Amy Pond."

The End.

**A/N: Okay, so this particular story is done. If I get an idea for another plot I might continue with this universe, but it's not likely. There is the possibility of exploring the fact that now River will never have been born and the consequences that might cause, if there are any. Not sure as of yet. One thing, I have watched series six and I feel I should apologize to poor Rory for this story. I was rather mean to him because I didn't like him at all in series five, but in series six he is so much better and he and Amy are an adorable couple, I will concede them that. However, I still think Amy and the Doctor is an awesome match. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the ending. Thank you to all the awesome people who reviewed and I hope I kept everyone in character for you, since that is my main goal and that there was enough Amy/Doctor stuff at the end. I might write a one shot between them later, just see what would happen. So, that's it. I completed a story which is rare for me. Thanks for reading. ^_^**

**p.s. It's kind of coincidence that I ended with chapter eleven and he is the eleventh Doctor...I just noticed that as I was posting this. Sorry. That's it.**

**p.p.s. Sequel is now up. The Time Alteration. For those interested. Thanks! **


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